The Reunion
by Jem Kallop
Summary: Bakura returns from the world of the Pharaoh's memories, and the first thing he does is to seek out his old partner, Marik Ishtar. But can he convince Marik to work with him once again? Thiefshipping, co-written with mid-k-night
1. Chapter 1

**Cowritten with mid-k-night, originally from an RP on tumblr XD**

The sun was dipping ever closer to the horizon as the Egyptian day drew to a close. The desert sands sparkled with grainy beauty, long shadows cast by the buildings on the outskirts of the city the perfect camouflage for the thief who walked their streets that night. White hair shone out in the darkness, pale skin just visible before the skilled thief hid himself once again in the shadows of the building. He was stalking his prey.

It didn't take much longer to find him. Marik was seated in the garage with his precious motorbike, of course. His familiar blond hair fell around his face as he leaned over, brows furrowed, working on something or other to do with that stupid machine. The thief narrowed his eyes. At least he hadn't been noticed, so he slunk into the garage and hugged the walls, remaining hidden in the shadows. With a slight smirk, the thief lowered himself and removed a bottle of water from his inner pocket. He splashed it quickly out of the shadows, sloshing water all over Marik's head before he ducked back into the shadows, hiding.

Marik's reaction was priceless. He shrieked, grabbing at his hair and shaking out the damp strands with a horrified expression. "H-Hey! Don't you throw stuff at me! I am not a target! Especially not for water, horrible cold stuff…"

Bakura allowed a low dark chuckle to escape him from the shadows. "What is it Ishtar? Can't stand the cold?"

Marik snarled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, because everyone loves getting wet cold water chucked at them, don't they?"

A wide white smirk moved slowly in the shadows, an equally dark voice mocked, "Yes… Of course, especially Egyptian warm bronze-skinned ones."

"Wait…" Marik's tone turned suspicious and he leaned forwards, narrowing his eyes. "Who is that? Do I know you?"

The shadow moved too quickly with feline dexterity, the amused teasing voice rose once again from another spot. "Do you? …Ishtar?" In the corner of the half-smile appeared a shining fang.

Marik jumped, spinning quickly when the voice suddenly sounded from somewhere else. Its dark tone was somehow familiar. Marik growled. "Thief, is that you? You're not scary."

The figure moved rapidly again. Pale fingers moved against a strand of Marik's blond hair barely making it blow. "I disagree."

Marik hissed. He span around quickly, glaring at the pale form he could barely see through the darkness. "It is you, isn't it? What do you want?!"

"What does it look like? I'm having fun bothering you… So. Much. Fun" The thief started to move around Marik making small sound hints from where he walked. "You see, I'm deeply bored… Bored of this long life and you're one of my best ways of entertainment."

Marik stiffened, eyes jumping around as he tried to follow where the thief went. He hissed lowly, hands clenching into fists by his sides. "Well, I'm glad to know you enjoy my company so much, _Bakura_," Marik scoffed sarcastically.

Brown eyes narrowed. "As if." The steps got closer. "I just don't have anything better to do for the moment." The bright grin was coming further to the place where Marik was standing. "… And I don't see you going anywhere at the moment either." The movements of the shadow weren't as unpredictable as they seemed at the beginning; it became obvious that were meant to corner the Egyptian.

Marik moved back, constantly avoiding Bakura's flitting movements. He cursed inwardly, however, when he realised that the clever thief had managed to trap him in a corner.

"You're not funny, Bakura," Marik growled through clenched teeth. "If you're bored, go drown a puppy. Leave me alone." He shivered at Bakura's nearness, hating that he couldn't see the thief properly in the flickering shadows. He felt trapped, knowing he couldn't escape now.

The thief's smooth movements were getting slower and for a moment an awkward silence surrounded them, strands of white passed through the shadows and a loud laugh sounded after. "Don't tell me, the god-complex kid is scared?" A sudden whisper came to Marik's ear along with the natural scent the host of the spirit had. "Are you?"

Marik's eyes widened and he started in shock, holding back a scream and hating himself for it. He would never, ever, show any weakness in front of the thief. Instead, a snarl passed his lips as he quickly spun around, one hand shooting out to grab Bakura's shoulder. Marik's eyes were sharp as flint.

"I am not scared of you," Marik sneered derisively. "A petty thief, that's all you are. Why on earth would I fear you?"

Bakura's eyes landed to the hand on his shoulder and went back to the owner with an apathetic gesture, but when they met the lilac the amusement went back to his now partially visible face, leaning his face forward to get a good visibility of the Egyptian's face he spoke. "Could a petty thief take these?" In his thin fingers he held keys out of Marik's reach. Marik's motorcycle keys. "You should have been scared little Marik." After saying this, the agile thief ran to the opposite side with his prize in hand.

Marik's eyes widened in shocked surprise when he saw his keys swinging from Bakura's slender fingers. Before he could reach out and grab them, however, Bakura had disappeared, swallowed once again in the shadows. Marik cursed loudly. He ran forwards, making for the place where he had seen Bakura disappear. "Thief! You get back here and give me my keys, now!"

The laughter now invaded the way. "If you want them you should be faster than that, Ishtar!" The steps were quick and zigzagged but his voice was loud and clear, it was almost like the breadcrumbs for Marik to find his way and his words were as teasing as the beginning of this uncertain and wicked game. "You know, a little scared kid like you shouldn't be outside in the dark"

Marik's eyes glared in anger as he darted towards Bakura. He snarled angrily, fists clenched tightly by his sides as he ran towards the voice that was trickling back to him through the darkness. "You idiot! I am not a child, and I'm certainly not scared of you!"

Running outside, Marik drew to a sharp halt and spotted white hair in front of him. He growled and pounced, aiming straight for Bakura as he snarled, "Just give me back my keys, thief!"

The thief didn't seemed startled, in a movement he span around to face him and let Marik tackle with the minimum of damage, again looking at his eyes with the same obnoxious smirk, a hand slipped in his pocket to take out the keys, wriggling them. "If you want them maybe we can make a deal, you know you could give me something in exchange, just like old times, but this time…" his eyes narrowed, "This time you have to give it first, since my last deal with you ended not-so-well-paid."

Marik growled, glaring at the keys dangling from Bakura's hand. He glowered at the pale thief, eyes glittering dangerously through the dark night, the cold air chilling around them. "I owe you nothing, thief. You didn't uphold your end of our last bargain, so give me back my keys, now. Before I get really angry."

A flash of anger passed through Bakura's eyes "You could be more grateful to me you bastard, without me your dear big brother would have a hole in the middle of his face tattoo!" He pushed Marik with both hands. "Not only that, I was engulfed by the shadows because of you and your stupid dark personality! You certainly owe me something."

Marik's eyes flared as he fell back under Bakura's harsh shove. Marik stumbled but managed to keep his feet under him, wobbling wildly but without falling over. He lowered his brows into a dark glare, speaking lowly at Bakura. "You lost, Bakura. You said you'd fight for me, and you lost."

Drawing in a careful breath, Marik spoke again, his hands balled into fists. "You made me lose my body. You abandoned me to the shadows. I would say I owe you nothing at all."

"_I_ abandoned _YOU_?" Bakura's threatening voice rose, it lacked the sinister tone that once had his merged personality with the demon Zorc, but it didn't lack malevolence. "As always it's all about you, isn't it? Well I have news for you Ishtar, it isn't, you were the one who betrayed me and now I'm the one making the rules!"

With an abrupt movement the thief managed to disappear in the shadows again, only a few moments later his voice rang from another spot. "I should have left poor big guy Rishid to perish, next to you, and take the Sennen Rod from the cold dead hands of your personal darkness."

Marik gasped, Bakura's words lancing straight through him and cutting him straight to the quick. His head whipped around, trying to see Bakura's dim shape through the shadows. He could see nothing.

"Get out here!" Marik shouted, glaring angrily around him. "Bakura! You never would have left me to die. You didn't have to risk your soul to save me, but you did it anyway. You can't blame me because you lost! Now get out here and face me, or are you too scared?"

A dark laugh was close to Marik's ear. "Who is scared? You just can't see what is right before your eyes, let me enlighten you, you might be comfortable with your "good boy way of living" but you don't fool me Ishtar, you're the one who is scared, scared of yourself, scared of being eaten by darkness again." Something brushed against Marik's shoulder blade and the sound went away one more time.

Marik shivered. Each one of Bakura's words was true, and that fact both scared and shocked Marik to the bone. How could the pale thief still read him so easily? Marik had thought he was better at hiding his emotions than that…

Gathering his thoughts, Marik managed to glare, though his voice was still shaky. He span around and shot a hand out, managing to grab Bakura's shoulder and keep the thief still. "You've got no right to say that to me," Marik growled, his voice low and dangerous. "You know nothing of me. Don't you dare talk to me like that."

"Wrong." The pale figure emerged from the shadows, getting closer. "I know everything, I know of your big stupid ego, of the panic attacks you have when you get close to the underground, the outbursts of rage, the paintings, the fact that you aren't the good guy you want to show the world you are, the way you don't fit in this world… The way you never fitted." He shoved faintly the hand off his shoulder, studying discreetly the eyes of the Egyptian behind a deep scowl. "Your threats mean nothing to me Marik, I don't have anything to lose anymore, you should take the trading offer."

Marik ground his teeth together in fury, his whole body trembling as Bakura reeled off every single true fact about Marik. How could he know so much? It wasn't fair! Fear was truly coursing through Marik's veins now, making him visibly tremble. The air was crisp and cold, cutting through Marik just as easily as Bakura's words.

Marik screwed his eyes shut. He snarled. "Fine. You're right. I have never belonged here, just as you haven't, thief. But what trade could I possibly offer?" Marik's eyes flew open, searing straight into Bakura. "I have nothing. What more could you want from me?"

Bakura's eyes gleamed, he never looked so alive in Ryou's body; his glance was always deep and distant, icy and inert, but now, for the first time in all these years, his face was relaxed, he looked free of heavy ancient burdens and vicious monsters. "Are you gonna listen now? Wasn't it easier this way without being overdramatic?" Bakura inhaled deeply and turn his back to Marik, something he used to do back in Battle City when the thief avoided disclosing his intentions. "Ishizu," He murmured, "She still works at the museum, right?"

"You were the one who started all the drama!" Marik burst, still trembling at how easily Bakura had managed to get under his skin. He closed his eyes and drew in several deep breaths, allowing his heart to slow down and his muscles to relax slightly before he risked opening them and addressing Bakura again. The pale thief had turned his back on Marik, which meant he was hiding or plotting something. Probably both. Frowning suspiciously, Marik moved around Bakura until he was facing him again. He spoke, tone sharp. "Yes, she does. What of it?"

Bakura was absorbed in his own thinking when he noticed he was facing Marik again, now the one who seemed uneasy was him, but he managed to recover quickly, not wanting to allow Marik to get into him. The thief frowned back. "I need you to look for something for me in the museum, it isn't something too precious so it must be stored inside, probably classified as something with unknown purpose, something that is not valuable enough to put on a beautiful display… If you find it I want you to take it for me, and before you start another drama, it's not stealing when I'm the rightful owner of that object."

Marik frowned, his brows knitting tightly together as he took in Bakura's words. The thief looked shifty - well, more shifty than he normally did, anyway - so Marik was naturally suspicious. He narrowed his eyes, keeping his gaze trained on Bakura all the time. "And what is this object you would have me steal? I don't care about your excuses, it's still stealing, and my sister won't appreciate me putting her job in danger."

The thief snapped "Excuses?! By the gods you're making this deal or I'll throw your precious motorcycle to a cliff! How dare you to..?" He silenced himself raising his own fist, forcefully trying to maintain composure, he knew a thread of harsh responses would lead the stubborn Egyptian to enclosure in a barrier of arguments again, so he growled impatiently. "Listen to me well, Ishtar," he allowed himself to breathe with pursed lips "This is an object that won't be missed, is not flamboyant or made of gold, silver or _electrum_, it's just very, very old, it's an iron stick with an _ankh _handle and small irregular protuberances, it mustn't be difficult to find since it must be an unclassified object, and this is very important, this must fit in it." The thief grasped between three white fingers a very old golden ring with a purple gem, around the stone it had small metal prones, looked like those had to fit somewhere "When you bring me my object I'll give you your beloved keys."

Marik tilted his head, eyeing Bakura carefully. His brows were furrowed and he bit down on the inside of his cheek, carefully turning over Bakura's proposal. This object, whatever it was, clearly meant something to the pale thief, and in Marik's experience that meant it couldn't be good. But, on the other hand, Marik did sort of owe Bakura for helping him in Battle City. Plus, Marik's motorcycle keys were still swinging from Bakura's fingers.

Marik growled. "Fine. But first, tell me what this _ankh_ does and what you need it for. And then give me that gold ring, so I can make sure I am stealing you the right object." Marik's foot tapped impatiently on the floor as he glared at Bakura, ignoring the jumping feeling in his chest at how close the pale thief was standing to him.

The thief smirked wide and seem satisfied with Marik's conclusion, however he looked reluctant to share anything with the boy, and he knew Marik didn't trust him fully as he did once, somehow that thinking tugged him from the inside, he let himself come into the shadows again and in a moment he was far away. "Let's put it this way Ishtar, I'm trading your motorcycle for my house." His voice went away while he still was speaking. "Meet me here in three days".

Marik growled as Bakura disappeared back into the shadows, his voice fading into silence. The world felt empty now, like something was missing, and Marik was affronted by Bakura's constant demands. He spoke into the darkness. "Three days. You'd better be here, thief."

With a sigh, Marik dropped his gaze. A glint of gold caught his eye through the shadows and Marik strode forwards, recognising the gold ring Bakura had shown him, it was left on the floor in the spot the thief was standing, Marik bent down, his fingers closing around the cool metal. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it once. "I do this for you, Bakura. Gods know I don't let anyone else tell me what to do."

The thief observed from a distance when Marik made his way, he remembered too clearly their short-lived partnership, and the instant trust and complicity they shared, he didn't hesitate on Marik's demands before, the thief didn't have second doubts on hurting himself for the Egyptian, and now looking from the distance it seemed like it was yesterday, dying together is a bond that cannot be dissolved too easily, but still, the boy was hurt, broken, never recovered, it was necessary for the 'evil' spirit to guard himself this time, what they shared was strong and hurtful for them both. He half smiled at the person Marik became, an adult now, and he was so much alike at the man the thief once was… Is… Now it was all over and in time to recover the life he was denied, without the screaming of the spirits of his people, or the itching it caused being possessed by a demon, and once again Bakura resumed his steps to come back another day.

Marik released a sigh, clutching the gold ring close to him for another moment before he placed it securely in his jacket pocket. He rose back to his feet. Marik shot another glance around the shadows, looking for any flash of white, but all was still and dark. No wonder - Bakura had always been good at hiding.

Marik began to tread the streets back to his siblings' house, knowing he had been out for far too long already. Once home he went straight up to his bedroom, ignoring his siblings' questions, and flopped straight down onto the bed. He placed the gold ring under his pillow. Trust Bakura to always have some gold on him. As he rolled onto his back, Marik thought over his encounter with Bakura again and wondered just exactly what the pale thief had planned. It wouldn't take Marik long to steal the ankh Bakura had asked for - he often wandered the museum unchecked, as the guards all knew his sister - and he had to admit that a part of him thrilled with excitement at working with Bakura once again.

Three days almost seemed like too long before he could see the pale thief again.


	2. Chapter 2

The agreed day the spirit arrived early and glanced around, he knew Marik had what he wanted, somehow he never doubted and he could only hope the robbery would sparkle the flame of what Marik really was and had always been, a rogue, not the good child he wanted his relatives and the world to believe, once you become an outlaw you can never go back, Bakura was sure of it. Marik's flaming motorcycle rested against its side, a pale hand brushed its chassis. The thief looked ready for a journey, he had two backpacks and clothing for the desert, he waited patiently in the quiet afternoon.

Marik strode quickly through the streets, his head dipped and his hands shoved in his pockets. He was making for the alley where he was due to meet Bakura; no doubt the pale thief would be there already, waiting for Marik to show up.

As he walked, Marik's fingers brushed the silver _ankh_ in his pocket. It hadn't been difficult to steal it - none of the guards had been even remotely interested, as it had been located in a dusty old stock room, not out on display at all. Marik hadn't had any difficulty in taking it. The gold ring Bakura had given him was also in his pocket, though Marik hadn't been able to fit the two together. He also wasn't sure he should try, given what he knew of Bakura.

Marik finally entered the alley and he saw Bakura straight away, stood beside his motorcycle with two rucksacks. Marik's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He pursed his lips, staring longingly at his bike for a moment before he turned his gaze back on the pale thief. His stomach gave a strange flip as he spoke. "Well, thief, I see you showed up. Finally decided to honour an agreement, have you?"

"Your disbelief is heart-breaking Ishtar, I'm a man of my word, I always deliver, contrary of how kindly you think of me." The thief added a bit of sarcasm and a bit of taunt. "Got my _ankh_?" He patted the motorcycle. "The lady here was a good girl all the time and I didn't scratch it a single bit."

Marik ran straight to his motorbike, ending up standing right beside Bakura as he quickly ran his hands over the sleek smooth metal. It certainly didn't look damaged, as far as Marik could tell, but he knew he wouldn't be truly satisfied until he had the keys back in his hand and could drive it again.

Bakura stepped closer to have a good look at Marik, not even hiding that he was checking him out. "I liked more the lilac hoodie by the way, but black is always a good choice," said the thief with a smug look on his face.

With a low sigh, Marik span back around to face the thief, finding them almost nose-to nose. Marik balked a little when he heard Bakura's teasing comments, one perfectly styled eyebrow lifting as he tilted his head. "I had no idea you paid so much attention to my clothes, Bakura. Black is much more practical for moving about at night." Marik smirked slightly as he pointedly ran his eyes down Bakura's form. "Besides, you seem to agree with me – the black coat is new, right?"

The suggestive gesture of the Egyptian was enough to fuel that feeling, Bakura felt it first that time when Marik was in the realm of his mind, when he changed the rules of their deal, something he wouldn't allowed on anyone, for hours he tried to figure it out why he left himself to be commanded like that, and the worst of all, why was he obeying, something he hadn't done in three millennia. That feeling, unidentifiable, unknown, bothered him all the time, and now Bakura noticed it wasn't clouded by the years; on the contrary, its wild nature was accentuated by the new freedom, of both of them, free of chains that weren't theirs.

The thief mirrored the smirk. "Yes, indeed, I know you aren't a good boy if you move by night." He didn't separate the distance between them, but he moved one of his strands of hair from the middle with a small blow. "The coat is not THAT new, I used it before he passed to the afterlife." Bakura smiled at the thought of the _Namonaki _Pharaoh being really dead, it was a shame he couldn't make him suffer more though, but he had won, Atem was dead, his people found rest and Zorc was ripped apart from his heart, even when he didn't have full vengeance as planned, he mildly won, and that was all that mattered… He stopped his train of thought shaking the head slightly. "No surprise I like black, it's all I've known for centuries, without it I would feel… naked." His teasing smirk twisted, upper lip showing one fang and wrinkling his nose at the last word .

"Well, b-black suits you." Marik stuttered slightly, cursing himself for being bothered. He had always thought of the thief as attractive, and having Bakura tease him never failed to wind him up. Not that Marik ever wanted Bakura to know about that. He closed his eyes and turned away from the thief, shifting a little uncomfortably.

"Of course I got your _ankh,_" Marik rolled his eyes slightly. "You think I'd have been stupid enough to come here without it? Before I show you though, I want to see my motorcycle keys in my hand, now." Marik's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he thrust out one hand, his foot tapping impatiently against the ground.

Then Bakura slipped a hand in his coat's pocket, grasping the bright keys and threw them to the air aiming Marik's hands. "Catch."

Marik caught the keys with surprising dexterity, considering how fast the thief had thrown them at him. As soon as he had them back in his hand, Marik went to his motorcycle and stood it up, flicking the engine on to check it wasn't damaged. Only when he was sure it was ok did he turn back to Bakura.

The former spirit rolled his eyes watching Marik checking the motorcycle, he had said already that it wasn't damaged, hadn't he? Why was the Egyptian so reluctant to trust him again? The thief was positive he had always done whatever the capricious kid wanted. Bakura looked at the distance, "If I depart now I will arrive there on time for sunrise, now, if you don't mind I need my own key." A pale hand lifted, demanding his part of the bargain.

Marik turned back to Bakura with an arched brow. "You're leaving? Why - I mean, where are you going?" Having just found his old partner again, Marik was loathe to let Bakura go so quickly. He had been looking forwards to spending a little time together again - after all, whilst Bakura infuriated him, he was one of the few people Marik could hold a decent conversation with. So Marik narrowed his eyes and smirked at Bakura. "You're not getting your ankh until you tell me where you're going, and why."

Bakura huffed, now the Egyptian demanded his direction, of course he would, didn't expect less from that self-centered child. "Oh curses, I forgot how exasperating you are, breaking deals and always changing things for your own benefit." The thief chuckled, crossed his arms and shot back, "But the curious thing is I don't see where your benefit is. Why would you want to know that? Are you going to miss me?"

"N-no! Of course not!" Marik felt his face flood instantly with heat, much to his mortification. He hissed and turned away, screwing his face up so that Bakura couldn't see his expression. "And I never went back on any of our deals, thief. If you ruined my plans, that was your fault, not mine. Just tell me where you're going," Marik growled through clenched teeth. "Or I won't give you the ankh. I'm guessing you need it for whatever little scheme you have planned next."

The thief clenched his jaw and scowled. "Yes, in your eyes everyone else is guilty, anyone but you, irresponsible brat." He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, Marik had enclosed again and the timer was running. "You're so damn sensitive, if you're so interested in what am I going to do, my _lady_, I must remind you the Pharaoh doesn't exist anymore, so don't you worry for the well-being of the world, my vengeance wasn't totally fulfilled and that must make you happy since you were such good friends with that murde… With that hypocrite!"

"Hey!" Marik instantly flared. "I'm not an irresponsible brat, you … you manipulative thief! And I'm not worried about where you're going because of the stupid Pharaoh - he destroyed my life, remember - I'm worried because I'm worried about you!"

Realising what he had just blurted out, Marik's face drained, his skin turning ashen. He backed up quickly but found himself trapped by the motorcycle. Cursing quietly, he looked away, refusing to meet Bakura's gaze as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. It was true … he was concerned about Bakura and didn't want him doing anything that could get himself hurt again. But he hadn't wanted to let the thief know that.

Anger washed out from the thief's face, for the first time he seemed wordless, no witty comebacks, no attempts of derision, he just stood for a while with a strange frown and lips parted, a hand rubbed his face nervously. Making up his mind he stepped closer to the Egyptian and patted awkwardly his shoulder, he wasn't used to physical contact of any kind, but at the same time he had the urge to be closer.

"So… Ishtar, you want to know where I'm going?" He inhaled deeply and looked at the end of the alleyway. The thief smiled, a real genuine smile, not the common smirk that always adorned his face, in that moment he had an uncanny resemblance to Ryou, then he looked profoundly into lilac eyes and spoke almost in a faint of melancholy. "I'm going home."

Marik jumped when he felt Bakura's hand on his shoulder. He turned back to face the thief, his heart giving a little jump when he saw the true smile decorating Bakura's features. Marik frowned at his words, though. "Home? But … I thought your home was destroyed, thousands of years ago."

The thief cleared his throat. "Destroyed but not quite." Quick memories of fire and spears came to his mind and he felt himself wincing painfully, he turned his back to Marik slowly, leaning on the motorbike.

Marik bit his lip, edging a step closer as he gazed at Bakura. "Why are you going? Why don't you just stay here? I mean, you showed up out of nowhere, and now you're disappearing again…" Marik dropped his gaze, not wanting Bakura to see how much Marik would miss him if he left again.

"Stay here? I don't fit in this world either Marik. What would I do? I understand almost nothing about the world that we now live in. I wouldn't be able to work for a living. And be around your siblings? Yeah, I don't think so, Ishizu would not be pleased if she saw her reformed adorable brother with a criminal like me." He turned his face over his shoulder to look at the Egyptian. "Don't you know I miss the desert, and the freedom? I would not be free here, as you aren't."

Marik frowned as Bakura's words washed over him, disappointment flaring in his gut. He looked down, sadness covering his features, but he made sure to hide that expression completely before he looked back up and met the thief's gaze. "You're right that I'm not free," Marik said quietly, "But I don't have an option. My siblings are the only reason I'm not starving in the desert. But you … you're a thief, Bakura. Surely you could steal anything we … you need?"

Marik winced at the desperation that was showing in his tone, but he couldn't help himself. He barely wanted to admit it, even to himself, but Marik couldn't stand the thought of living without Bakura - not now he had found him again. "Besides, you still haven't told me how you _can_ go home," Marik continued. "There is nothing left of _Kul Elna_ but a few abandoned ruins. What are you going to do there?"

The white-haired thief watched carefully Marik's reactions, maybe it was the solitude the boy experienced but it was clear that he wanted him to stay, Marik, above all people is not a person who requests, It was a moment of weakness, so Bakura felt rather to take the opportunity as quick as possible, and stood straight with the hands on his pockets in front of the Egyptian. The old smirk went back to Bakura's face. "If you want to know that badly you should come with me."

Marik's eyes widened as he glanced back up at Bakura, starting when he saw the smirk back on the thief's lips. Marik arched a brow. "Come with you? And how, pray tell, would that benefit me?" Still, Marik couldn't stop the small amount of hope from blossoming in his chest at the thought of travelling with Bakura. Alone…

Shaking his head slightly, Marik placed his hand on his hip and summoned up an arrogant grin. "After all, I still have your _ankh_. Convince me to come with you, and you might have a deal."

Bakura bit his lip at his _faux pas_, noticing he looked to rushed and reckless, and deepened his frown at the quick response of the Egyptian, he recovered it quickly, too quickly, it was naïve to think the Egyptian's moments of weakness could last, as any of the emotions of his complex temperament, Marik's essence was unpredictable and saying it was absolutely endearing to the thief would be an understatement.

Bakura smirked wider and clicked his tongue "Didn't I tell you before? Always breaking on deals. What can I offer to you Ishtar? Aren't you curious about the place I call home? What about the adventure you don't experience in your 4 walled cage with your siblings making questions and overprotecting the most valuable member of an ex-clan? Pure freedom, the wind on your face as you love it, besides… I already packed for you." Bakura opened one of the knapsacks and showed him the interior, inside of it were Marik's belongings, no doubt the thief broke into his room and took the necessary things for the journey.

Marik's jaw dropped wide open in shock at the contents of the bag Bakura had opened. There was his sketchpad, his favourite set of pencils, a selection of clothes from his wardrobe … How on earth had Bakura managed to get a hand on those?!

"Damn thief!" Marik cursed loudly before he sent Bakura a small smirk. "I didn't know you'd taken to creeping around my room, Bakura. That's almost like you're stalking me. I never knew you took such an interest." Despite himself, Marik felt a small flood of flattery that Bakura had taken the time to spy on him. And that must mean Bakura had been planning on asking Marik to come with him all along…

Marik frowned at Bakura. "Just how do you know so much about my life? Yes, I find my siblings infuriating, but no one else knows about that. What are you, a mind reader?" Marik smirked again before folding his arms and looking Bakura straight in the eye. He was sure by now that Bakura could tell how eager he was to go with the pale thief, but Marik had to keep playing his part.

"How do I know? You're slow Ishtar, You just stated I was keeping an eye on you, during those three days I followed you to make sure you were keeping your word and stealing that ankh for me." The thief exhaled in quiet relief when he saw everything was going according to his plan, this was the first time one of his big schemes had wind in its sails.

Marik chuckled, the sound like bells in the suddenly much calmer air between them. "And stop stalking me, honestly. Of course I got your ankh. I wasn't about to double cross you again." He pursed his lips. "I will go with you," Marik stated clearly, "On one condition." He smirked, bouncing his motorcycle keys in one hand. "We are taking my bike, and I'm driving."

The thief stood proudly before the Egyptian, his half smirk lifted. "Well you can drive your bike, but I'm not leaving mine." Saying this, he strode to a side of the alleyway and hopped into a motorbike, model older than Marik's _Honda VT600-CShadow VLX_ but also shiny and fast, its chassis was black and it had a skull that awfully looked like Dark Spirit of the Silent, the spirit that almost gave them the victory one time, the only time he disobeyed Marik, and took the damage of the Egyptian god, _the winged dragon of Ra_.

Marik went utterly still when he saw the motorcycle Bakura brought out. Its smooth black body was alluring and attractive, glinting slightly in a very inviting way that made Marik's fingers itch. Without thinking, Marik crossed the distance and reached out a hand, touching the black metal. It was warm beneath his palm.

"When on earth did you get this?" Marik's voice was quiet, laced with something very close to awe as he admired Bakura's bike. He sent the pale man a sly grin. "Did my bike make you jealous enough that you had to get one of your own?"

The thief slipped a finger in Marik's pocket trying to reach the ring or the ankh, but the Egyptian was too close, it increased the odds to be caught, so he skilfully drew it back and managed to hide his intentions. Bakura watched with amusement the way his new acquisition attracted Marik like a magnet, he shifted uncomfortably, however, when a curious tanned hand touched the bike, too close to him, but he remained still, part of him bothered by the whole experience to be close and the other part trying to figure out how to take the ankh just to tease the other some more.

His eyes were drawn to the Marik the same way the motorbike attracted the Egyptian, Bakura made a bumptious smirk. "I obtained it a few weeks ago, as I told you I don't know a lot of this time but it's the closest I can get to a horse," and he snorted, "Jealousy is not in the list of the couple of things I can feel Ishtar, and don't think I will give up on stalking you, as I said, you're just another source of entertainment for me."

"Oh trust me, Bakura, a motorbike is much better than a horse." Marik grinned, running his hands once more over the smooth black metal, not noticing how close his fingers got to Bakura's leg. He did notice a pale hand attempting to steal the ankh from Marik's pocket, however, so Marik slapped Bakura's hand away and stepped back.

The thief snarled at the hand of the Egyptian and growled impatiently , crossing his arms, giving up. "And about my ankh, It's time to give it to me, and the ring as well."

An arrogant smirk lifted Marik's lips. "First, tell me where you're going. Then … I'll give you the ring. But I'm keeping the ankh. After all, I don't trust you, and you could very well just murder me out on the road and dump me in a ditch somewhere." Marik tilted his head and caught one flyaway piece of Bakura's hair, tucking it back behind the thief's ear. "So tell me where we're going, and I'll give you the ring."

The thief stopped when he felt a hand close to his face, damn it he lost it again, he gulped softly, Adam's apple sliding slowly in his neck, then started again energetically. "Ishtar this is not the time for being bratty, you already made too many changes to our deal, to know where we are going I need the ring!" He leaned with a glower on his face, "Could you stop being so dramatic? Why should I dump you somewhere else when I could do it right here and now?!"

"Oh, you wouldn't kill me now. You spent too long getting me here." Marik rolled his eyes, smirk staying strong on his lips as he regarded Bakura coolly. "And how am I dramatic? You're the one who showed up in the dead of night and coerced me into some secretive plan you won't even tell me about." With a low chuckle, Marik patted Bakura on the head before reaching into his own pocket and teasing out the ring. He held it up in front of Bakura, tilting his head. "But I suppose I can give you this for now."

Dropping the ring into Bakura's pale palm, Marik tossed the thief a wink before returning to his own motorbike. Jumping onto the leather seat, Marik revved his engine loudly before turning back to face Bakura, wide grin at his lips now. "Seeing as you're being an ass and not telling me where we're going, you'll have to take the lead, thief."

Bakura gritted his teeth in frustration, he was being heavily controlled again by the Egyptian and little could he do about it, like it happened on the past, every time he felt he was in charge of the situation he was bitterly reminded he wasn't; it was a mixture of thrilling exasperation, but the thief wasn't going to show despair any time soon, being at Marik's palm was horrible, but it felt so…

"Aren't you tired of being so full of yourself all the time?" Bakura remembered something and took the ring to his lips to collect the kiss Marik left on it, to slide it after on his finger. "You better follow me instead doing childish tricks with your motorbike".

Marik watched as Bakura took the ring and slipped it back on his finger, smiling slightly at the thought that they had both touched that small band of metal. He gave a haughty sniff. "I am not the sort to play childish tricks, fool."

Bakura chuckled, he spoke some low words and the ring gleamed, a narrow ray of blue light pointed a side. "Now we know where to go." The thief turned his machine on and sped up to the direction where the light was pointing.

When the strange blue light shone from the ring, guiding the way, Marik frowned. "You know, it's lucky I trust you, Bakura."

The thief laughed out loud "Lucky? Trust me? None of those words sound like what is actually happening, but whatever makes you feel better."

Marik stuck his tongue out in a very childish gesture, mock-glaring at the thief's back, before he followed after Bakura, driving his red motorbike and smiling at the familiar engine beneath him. It had been such a long time since he was free enough to ride like this - his siblings had always tried to limit him, stopping him from doing anything remotely dangerous. Briefly, Marik wondered how his siblings would react when they woke up in the morning to find him gone, but then Marik saw Bakura driving in front of him and he knew where he belonged.

Marik grinned and drove up to meet Bakura's side.


	3. Chapter 3

Bakura's driving style was hurried and reckless, just as his personality, however it was evident he wasn't used to driving, from time to time a weird shake on the tires happened, but looked fairly well for someone who just discovered driving.

For a long time he didn't exchanged words, just glanced at Marik randomly or drove to the direction of the light, sometimes he teased the Egyptian obstructing him the way, feinting a crash between them or just laughing at him, it was so many years without another thought that wasn't revenge, now he was rediscovering fun.

Marik drove after Bakura, not missing the way he slipped occasionally. Evidently, Bakura wasn't as practised at driving as Marik was. However, that didn't stop Bakura from winding Marik up, teasing him with feints and fake crashes and sending him almost veering off course twice. Marik rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out childishly at Bakura.

Bakura noticed the sun wasn't high in the sky anymore and he turned back to the Egyptian with a grin. "Soon we'll have to rest. We can pull over and camp if you want to."

Marik was tired, not having slept well in his siblings' house, so he wasted no time in pulling over to the side of the road, hopping off his bike after making sure it was carefully parked and stretching up in the air, a yawn at his lips. "Yeah, let's camp. I'm exhausted."

Bakura pulled over next to him, he covered with a sand coloured tarp both motorcycles after securing them with chains, of course nobody was going to steal from the _Thief King_ himself. After strolling a bit in the surroundings to make sure there wasn't any danger he opened his backpack and drew some items out of the package, his idea of camping was precarious, just a sleeping bag, some preserved foods, a small lighter and other simple stuff, he however looked in his natural environment, it wasn't long before he lit a fire.

"Are you going to do something or you're going to be staring like an idiot?" The thief said while he sat on the ground. "You may use that thing," he said, pointing to the sleeping bag and fixing himself dinner, "And you can eat this beef jerky." Bakura offered some of the things he was eating with a mocking smile.

Marik wrinkled his nose at the basic food Bakura offered him, rolling his eyes slightly. Nevertheless, he took a seat next to Bakura and accepted the food, taking a large bite of the beef. He smirked slightly, sending Bakura a grin. "Trust you to have some form of meat on you, even when we're travelling."

Bakura stopped eating savagely with sharp fangs and looked at him transfixed. "Y… you actually… ate it?"

"Of course I did," Marik answered with a roll of his eyes before devouring another bite of the beef jerky. "It's, like, the only decent thing you offered me."

Bakura laughed out loud for several seconds. "Oh gods I just turned little Marik into an adult," he breathlessly talked while still laughing, "And to think I actually brought some lentils cans that were in Ishizu's kitchen HAHAHA!"

Marik scowled at Bakura's continued laughter. "Well, that shows you don't know everything about me, thief. I ate meat in Battle City and whenever I could, but Ishizu won't let me anymore. To be honest, I prefer meat to vegetarian dishes."

"If… If Ishizu and Rishid could see you right now… Hahaha, Marik eating meat." Then Bakura giggled a little more and shot a smirk. "Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I told you," Marik sniffed haughtily, "I like eating meat now." _Anything I can do to get away from the rules of my upbringing, _he silently thought.

Bakura gaped, he was genuinely impressed by the nerve of the Egyptian, never could the thief had imagined he really had meat before. Then maybe it was safe and relieving taking the _koshari _off of the menu partially, and it was delightful he could share his love for meat with his… Friend? Bakura furrowed when the word came to his mind.

Marik smirked when he saw Bakura gaping at him, knowing that he had finally properly impressed the spirit. He folded his arms arrogantly and tossed his head back. "What, did you think I couldn't stomach eating meat? You underestimate me, Bakura."

"Perhaps I do," Bakura answered softly, his eyes trained on the Egyptian.

Marik felt the look and turned back to face Bakura with a low sigh. He couldn't help but stare at the thief, still slightly amazed that Bakura had come back to him - after the time spent in the Pharaoh's memories, Marik had been almost positive he would never see Bakura again. To have him back now was more than Marik could ever have wished for, and it made him happier than he would have liked to admit.

Bakura noticed the staring and he lifted his brow "Are you quite finished staring?"

"I'm not!" With a quick shake of his head, Marik turned away from Bakura, cheeks darkening slightly at how he had been caught. He furrowed his brows and glared at the sleeping bag instead. "You seriously expect me to sleep in that?! It'll be freezing out here at night!"

The thief rolled his eyes at Marik's statement "Yes it is cold Ishtar, this is a desert, that's why I brought that for you, you're such a spoiled child, I'm not surprised you can't stand a little night breeze".

"It's already freezing, Bakura," Marik hissed, wrapping his arms around his chest and pointedly shivering. He growled. "You had better have a plan to stay warm, because I hate being cold."

The thief with a sigh stood up and took his coat off talking harshly, "Oh for all the specters in my deck, you're so whiny! You can put this like a blanket, its warm enough, don't complain that much, I'll make the fire burn all night, you should be fine with that."

With a shiver, Marik gratefully accepted the coat from Bakura, wrapping it tightly around his shoulders. He noticed that it smelled just like the thief. Ignoring the slight flutter in his chest, Marik frowned over at Bakura, tilting his head curiously. "But … won't you get cold without your coat?"

Bakura smiled to himself, was that worry in Marik's tone? There was only a way to find out. "Well this body is not used to this kind of climate but I don't think it can't handle it, back in my day we didn't have those fancy portable beds." As he said that he was laying down in the ground, finally he felt himself free, the sand firm in his skin, thousand stars above him and that insufferable Egyptian at his side. "Why? Are you still worried about me?" he teased.

Marik rolled his eyes before climbing gratefully into the sleeping bag Bakura had given him, curling up by the still-burning fire with Bakura laying by his side. Marik glanced down, embarrassed. "I'm not worried," he muttered. "Don't be so arrogant."

With a small sigh, Marik rolled onto his back and glanced up at the stars twinkling above him. This sort of sight was something he never would have dreamed of in his days living underground, and he still relished every moment he got to spend out in the open desert. He rolled a little, bright grin on his lips as he spoke absent-mindedly. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Bakura watched him attentively while he shifted, running his eyes through the Egyptian face, the colour of his skin, his bright violet eyes, a perfect turned-up nose, full lips and that sandy platinum hair. "Yes it is." His hooked eyes stayed on the Egyptian for a few seconds and then turned his back on him. "Just sleep already, tomorrow we have more road to follow."

Marik gazed into Bakura's eyes before Bakura turned away, rolling so his back faced him. Marik felt a strangely disappointed tug in his gut when he could no longer see Bakura's face. He frowned. "Alright, fine. Goodnight, Bakura." Marik closed his eyes and settled closer, unconsciously curling up against Bakura's back.

The thief swore in his mind while he felt his long dead heart jumping in his chest, it had to be a curse of the gods making Marik so dazzling, a way to make him pay for his sins, the thief couldn't understand why everything about Marik allured him, confused him, tortured him. Bakura took a deep breath, trying to distract his mind. The thief relaxed when he felt Marik close to his back, it didn't take long before he drifted to sleep.

Marik was asleep within seconds but it wasn't restful - his dreams were as dark as ever. Marik shifted in his sleep, a small whimper escaping his lips as he rolled again, eyes tight shut. He growled. Nightmares flickered in his skull, familiar images of the tomb, the scars on his back, and Marik whimpered again in his sleep, more loudly this time. No matter how often he got them, the nightmares still managed to terrify him.

Bakura slept only superficially, he never actually rested, all his senses alert, ready to rise in case of danger, never allowing himself to be fully at peace, so when Marik whimpered the thief jumped a little in his half-sleep, Bakura glanced to his back and rolled to face the Egyptian who looked troubled, the white-haired thief knew the boy had nightmares just like him, however he didn't know the frequency of them. An unsure hand started groping on the covered shoulder and made its way to the back, stroking softly, feeling the scars pattern, Bakura couldn't help but imagine how the marred skin would feel under his palm, he tried making small circles and watched carefully Marik's reaction.

Marik started when he felt hands brushing his shoulder and back, but the touch was gentle and soothing. Usually he didn't let anyone touch him, not even his siblings, but something about this touch made him curl closer, seeking more. Another whimper escaped his lips as he kept dreaming, dark images flashing behind his closed lids. Marik hated sleeping.

In his nightmare, Marik's father reappeared and held the knife over Marik's back, cackling evilly, which made Marik scream. He curled up closer to Bakura, shivering and whimpering more loudly in his sleep, looking for more of those gentle touches that had helped to calm him. He winced. "Help me…"

Bakura cringed, no wonder why he was so attached to the Egyptian, it was his vivid image at night, when the nightmares trapped him with their claws, screams of a lost village, blood and fire, there was no doubt Marik was living his initiation again, he snuggled even closer trying to make Marik find relief beneath his touch, he held him awkwardly._ So many years since I have been so close to another person… It feels warm,_ he thought, keeping the slow pace of his hand on the quivering body of his partner, he would never seem so fragile in his waken form.

Marik shifted again in his sleep when he felt arms wrap around him and gently stroke his back, murmuring calming words. They helped Marik to relax. He could feel the nightmares leaving him, the horrors of his past gradually fading away until Marik felt himself waking. Not wanting to leave this warmth yet, though, Marik snuggled closer into the body he could feel pressed against him.

"I'm here, they won't hurt you again, never again." Bakura snarled at the memory of Marik's family, to Bakura everyone were partly involved in his suffering, even his siblings, so he killed his father? Good riddance to the bastard, the thief hoped in silence his _ba_ would be next to the _Kul-Elna_'s executors eaten by demons or being forever chewed in _Sekhmet_'s jaws, then, he concentrated in calming the Egyptian, even when this awfully looked like cuddling.

Eventually, Marik was awake enough to risk opening his eyes. He blinked, slowly coming to realise that the arms wrapped around him belonged to someone with pale skin and long white hair, and that brown eyes were watching him … Bakura. Marik's eyes flew wide open in shock and embarrassment and he went completely, utterly still. His voice cracked slightly as he tried to speak, shock apparent in his tone. "Um … are you … are you cuddling me?!"

_Curses, curses, curses!_ In the panic moment the thief pulled away in just one movement. "NO! OF COURSE NOT! I was… I mean YOU were… The nightmare…! Yes! You came closer in the middle of your stupid nightmare and I was just shoving you away!"

Marik listened in amazement as Bakura scrambled to fight him off, instantly pulling back from him and rolling away. Marik couldn't stop a snort of laughter escaping his lips. "'Shoving me away', my ass, Bakura. You had your arms around me. You were cuddling me!"

Bakura turned his back on Marik again feeling the adrenaline scratching his veins ."I… I'm very sleepy! Now I'm going back to sleep." With crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows he tried to feign sleep.

Marik laughed again, flopping onto his back and staring at the sky. He was still shivering a little from his nightmare, but it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. Having someone actually comforting him was definitely new, though. Eventually, he rolled back onto his side and curled up against Bakura's back, speaking softly into his ear. "What made you do that, hm? You've never struck me as the cuddling type before…"

Bakura gritted his teeth, busted in the worst way possible, of course that volatile Egyptian would end up being in control again; now he was sure, this was a bad taste prank coming from the gods no less, he was trapped, there was no way he could deny he was actually holding Marik.

In the middle of the chaos of the thief's thoughts he froze at the feeling of Marik getting closer, and it got worse when he felt the hot breath so close to his face and his taunting words, the thief tried desperately to stay still while he grunted. "I was NOT cuddling you! I already told you I was trying to move you, that's why I had my arms aro… You know what? I don't even have to explain myself to you idiot! And get the hell off me!" The thief moved forwards to get away from the other's personal space.

"Like hell you were trying to move me." Marik arched a brow, still chortling quietly at Bakura's obvious embarrassment. It was so rare to see the thief riled like this. With an arrogant smirk, Marik moved closer again, not allowing Bakura to move away as Marik moulded his body to Bakura's back.

"It's cold though, Bakura," Marik murmured again, breath hot against the back of Bakura's neck. "It'll be much warmer this way. After all, if you weren't cuddling me then it shouldn't bother you, should it?" Marik snickered again as he nestled closer, not even leaving an inch of space between their bodies. He eagerly watched for Bakura's reaction, violet eyes sparkling with mischief.

The thief suppressed the shiver in his spine when he felt Marik's body closer than before, he felt the need to try to escape again and he wriggled to get rid of his partner, suddenly he felt an alien sensation in his face, his cheeks were turning warm, he tried to counterattack ."Ishtar…" he swallowed and fixed his voice to give a nonchalant tone. "I know you're desperate to get my attention, but please restrain those urges at night, unlike others I actually need to sleep, or is it that you actually liked your ridiculous idea of cuddling with me?"

Marik's eyes widened and he instantly pulled back from Bakura, cursing when his plan backfired. Damn it, he had hoped to tease Bakura more than this, but he should have known the pale thief was too clever to put up with it for long. Marik's brows lowered. "You were the one cuddling me, Bakura, not the other way around. Don't you dare turn this back on me."

Allowing a low hiss to escape his lips, Marik pointedly turned his back on Bakura. He put plenty of distance between their bodies and wrapped the sleeping bag tighter around him, shivering in the cold air. He stubbornly closed his eyes, praying that his nightmares wouldn't return this time and trying to ignore the strange absence he felt now that Bakura wasn't touching him.

The thief felt relief when Marik turned away, his body wasn't obeying him as it always had, and the most strange thing was that he felt himself flushed, only the thought of Marik watching his blushed face made his stomach twitch, he would never hear the end of it, it was just another way for Marik to use him as his puppet, and Bakura wasn't having any of that so he talked to make his point. "Oh but I already did Ishtar."

However his sleep delayed, the shadow of the sensation that caused Marik's body pressed against his was there, like an annoying ghost that won't go away, he closed his eyes searching for oblivion, and had to take all his will to not turn back and lean against the Egyptian, see if that stupid brat keep his ridiculous and charming arrogant face, but instead he sighed and slept until the next day.

Marik slept, still occasionally bothered by nightmares although he slept slightly better in the knowledge that Bakura was close by. When the sun peeked over the horizon, signalling that morning had come, Marik stirred slightly as he felt warmth alight upon his cheek. He yawned, stretching.

Turning over and blinking open his eyes, Marik started in surprise when he saw Bakura lying next to him. In their sleep, somehow they had ended up close to each other again, and Marik saw with a slight jolt that his hand was very close to holding Bakura's. Cursing slightly, Marik snatched his hand back and sat up, wincing a little as the scars on his back ached.

"Hey, Bakura," Marik grunted roughly, trying not to remember what it had felt like to be held by the pale thief the night before. He poked Bakura's arm firmly. "Wake up and make me breakfast. I'm hungry."

Bakura stirred "Hmm? Do youth own bdeakfath," he spoke muffled by his arm covering his face while rolling to his back. "You're like a child. Why do I have to take care of everything?" The thief yawned and stretched, strangely this felt like a rested up night, the thief peeked with one tired eye, "There's more beef jerky and the cans of the stupid lentils I had to bring for the princess."

Marik rolled his eyes at Bakura's muffled noises, laughing at how the thief was still obviously half asleep. He chuckled, sitting up and crawling out of the sleeping bag with a stretch. "I'm not a princess, Bakura, unless it's in your fantasies." He winked at the thief with a bright laugh before moving over to the food.

The thief felt the heat rising to his cheeks and scoffed. "Ha, you wished," so early and the Egyptian was already playing with him like a mischievous cat with his prey.

"I am not a princess; nor am I a kid," Marik growled, glaring at Bakura over his lentils before he smirked and suddenly leaned very close to the thief. "You must be dreaming, huh?"

"I am not." Bakura noticed he was staring at the boy and moved his gaze with a frown, maybe bringing him wasn't a good idea, something weird was happening, like if his partner could make him feel things he couldn't control.

"Suuuuure." Grabbing a can of lentils, Marik quickly lit the fire again and cooked them before sitting and munching on them. He was quite surprised, really, that Bakura had been thoughtful enough to pack them for him - Marik did prefer them to meat, even though he wasn't strictly vegetarian like his siblings. He turned and prodded Bakura with one toe, smirking slightly. "If you don't get up now, you're not getting any breakfast."

Bakura cracked his bones a bit and rose to walk and stretch his limbs a bit more. "Yeah, yeah, I know if I don't wake up the kid will eat all my food." Ruffling the contents of the backpack, he opened a second bag of beef jerky, what a wonderful invention that was, portable dried meat, maybe these times weren't so bad after all, they had faster vehicles, practical utensils, food that didn't got rot easily, Marik… The thief tore the meat with sharp and hungry teeth, he didn't calculated how much Marik's presence changed everything.

Marik looked over and caught the pale thief staring at him before turning and ripping into the beef jerky. Marik wrinkled his nose slightly. "Do you have to eat like that? It's … distracting." Marik turned away. "And stop staring at me."

Bakura snorted. "Distracting you from what? I don't see you doing anything interesting or important," and he ate even more savagely, he thought he denied that he was staring, but maybe that would make it even more obvious.

With a slight chuckle, Marik sat back and finished off his food before he stretched, cricking his neck. He wasn't used to sleeping on the ground, but he wasn't about to moan and give Bakura the satisfaction of teasing him again.

The white-haired thief started putting all back on the backpack and uncovering the motorcycles, making sure he was carrying everything, then he looked in a map and announced, "We will leave the motorcycles in _Medinet Abu_, we will go on foot after that." The thief hopped on his bike. "Are you ready? We will spend a night one more night in the desert, I'll get you a blanket in the town."

Marik followed Bakura, helping him to pack up their rudimentary camp before heading back over to his motorcycle. He jumped on with a grin, stroking the metal before he turned to stare at Bakura. "Leave it?! I'm not leaving my bike anywhere, it'll get stolen and then broken and I'll never see it again."

Marik scoffed slightly, turning away, though he had to admit he was happy that Bakura was thinking of him. It had been cold the night before - a blanket would help him a lot, and make him much less likely to have nightmares. Though, to be honest, his sleep had been much better last night after Bakura comforted him. Even if the thief had then denied ever doing so.

Bakura rubbed his temples trying not to snap so early. "Oh okay, then you have two choices, you wait for me for a couple of days in town or you drive your motorcycle up on a sandy rocky hogback, I, on the other hand will leave it on a rented closed space cause I don't want to break my tires in the middle of the desert."

Marik rolled his eyes at Bakura, sighing at the thief's ever-present sarcasm. Marik guessed he couldn't really have expected anything different - Bakura seemed incapable of holding a normal, pleasant conversation - but somehow Marik felt disappointed whenever Bakura got cross or annoyed with him. "Alright, alright. I guess we'll do things your way."

The thief started the motorbike and made his way, this day however wasn't as playful as the day before, images of the previous night kept coming to his mind. It wasn't a long time before they arrived at the town, the white haired thief parked. "Alright, Marik, you go and get us some supplies, I'm going to get you your stupid blanket," he left without another word.

Marik watched Bakura go with an almost-smile on his face. "Yes, thief, go before I can disobey your orders." He turned and walked the other way, hunting down food supplies and other things he guessed they might need for the rest of their journey to Gods-knew-where.


	4. Chapter 4

Marik and Bakura remained separated for a while, both going about their own jobs in the town. Bakura left Marik buying the food for that night, disappearing for a while, on his return he had a warm blanket in his hands and a devilish grin in his face. Marik, in the meantime, searched out food and supplies for the remaining trip in the desert before he went back to meet Bakura at the place they had left their motorbikes.

Bakura grinned. "I got the parking place, are you going to stay or come with your precious baby? And I'm talking about the bike," he winked slyly.

Marik smirked a little, beginning to wheel his bike after Bakura as the thief led him through the town. "Oh, but Bakura, won't you be my precious baby?"

The thief felt again warm his cheeks, twice in a day, not good, not good at all, he recovered quickly though. "I can't be anybody's precious baby, I think you agree I have an attitude problem, but I can be your thief," Bakura chuckled darkly.

Marik stopped, slightly startled by Bakura's words. "You can be my thief?" Marik's eyes glazed as he tried to work out what Bakura meant - of course, the thief was only teasing, the thief was always teasing, but still, those words made Marik tremble. He shook his head, blinking furiously and sending Bakura a mock-glare. "You definitely have an attitude problem, though."

Bakura laughed at the confusion of the Egyptian. They soon reached the edge of the town, the small village huts coming to an end and opening out to the desolate desert that looked vast and quiet, it was afternoon already, the sky was tinted with colours, the sand was solid and rocky as Bakura predicted. Marik scowled at Bakura's laughter, but he winked once before turning back to his bike, stroking it gently. "I suppose I can trust you. But if anything happens to my bike whilst we're gone, I'm going to make you pay. Got that?"

The white haired thief lifted his hands, giving up. "Okay, got that, I don't want my bike to be stolen either, I just stole it and I took the time to take it for a makeover, that painting cost me two robberies, that's way too much of my time." He took his backpack and parked the motorcycle inside a small rusty garage and placed several locks. "Soon you'll understand how well the _great me_ knows how to keep things."

With a loud sigh, Marik locked his bike up next to Bakura's in the garage, making sure it was secure and well-covered. He made sure nothing could be seen of its shiny metal, spending several minutes checking it over before he gave a small, satisfied nod. "That will do for now. And the _great you_ will be paying if anything happens to my bike." Marik sent Bakura a sly wink. "Trust me, you don't want to incur my wrath."

Bakura merely rolled his eyes, starting walking across the desert with Marik hurrying to follow after him. The terrain wasn't easy to cross. The desert sun was relentless as it beat down on them, the ground hard and unforgiving to their feet. Marik regretted not bringing proper footwear, pausing often to rub at the soles of his feet. _Of course, if Bakura had actually told me where we were going, then I could have prepared much better!_

After a few hours of walking the night fell, when they were near a small mountain that stuck up out of the sandy desert, smaller rocks collected around it. Sunset painted the sky dark red, the orange glow of the sun fading further and further towards the horizon.

Bakura stopped near the base of the mountain, his eyes distant, before he turned back to Marik, smirking he said, "We're camping here. What did you bring to eat? I'm starving"

Marik was relieved when they stopped for the night, instantly sitting down and slipping off his sandals so he could massage his aching feet. He waved his hand at the rucksack he had dropped on the sand. "I got you some more beef, don't worry. There're also more lentils, if you fancy something actually good for you..."

"What are you talking about?" Bakura scowled. "Meat is good for me."

"...And some bottles of water and I got some noodles too," Marik continued as if Bakura hadn't spoken, sticking his tongue out at the thief.

"Noodles? You spent too much time in Japan." The thief smirked and lit a fire as the night before, fixing himself dinner with a bit of everything .

"Japanese cuisine suited me; what can I say." Marik yawned widely, stretching out his aching limbs and wincing as his right leg cramped slightly. His skin felt sweaty and sticky, his hair limp, and his clothes were sticking unpleasantly to his skin. He leaped to his feet, sending Bakura a stare. "I'm going to bathe, there's an oasis over there. Don't peep." He sent Bakura a sly wink before turning and heading past the small mountain, through a clump of reeds to the oasis.

Bakura felt his face warming at the thinking of peeping on Marik and coughed a bit of the lentils, when he saw Marik leaving he shouted, "If I were you I wouldn't bathe at night, it's too cold, you'll freeze to death, you can bathe in the morning when the sun smiles at us."_ And there's enough light too._

Marik flicked an uncaring hand at Bakura, ignoring him. He tossed over his shoulder, "I'll be fine, I'm a big boy - I can cope with a bit of cold water. I am not going to sleep all sweaty." Marik chuckled slightly as he carried on towards the oasis.

Bakura stood. _That stubborn idiot!_ Should he run after him and stop him, should he stay to wait or… Take the opportunity? He knew the Egyptian wouldn't listen to reasons, and why should he restrain to give a small look? It wouldn't hurt anybody, he never asked permission for anything and wasn't starting now, so he silently followed the boy like a deadly shadow.

The thief kneeled close enough behind a rock, he didn't even had the time to process why he wanted to see him, but he knew his body commanded itself when Marik was involved, so he peeked to see how the boy left his clothing behind, it was dark and he could barely see his silhouette but what the dim light of the moon offered was more than enough, Marik's figure was majestic, Bakura was transfixed and his heart seemed to want to jump out of his body, quietly he left the spot when he saw Marik finishing washing, eyes still glued on the shade. He sat again next to the fire retaining his memories and trying to ease his breathing looking at the fire absently.

Once he had cleaned himself thoroughly, Marik headed back towards the camp and the fire he could see that Bakura had started. He was grateful for that as he was shivering rather violently - it turned out Bakura had been right, and the water had been freezing. It was also getting dark.

Marik scuttled as quickly as he could back over to the fire, his sodden hair dripping down his black vest as he huddled close to the crackling flames, sending Bakura a glare. "Yes, yes, I know, I sh-should have waited until morning. N-Now would you just hand me some lentils? I'm st-st-starving." Marik cursed his chattering teeth as he shivered, pulling his jacket as tightly around his freezing body as he could.

When the Egyptian came shivering, Bakura found the opportunity to distract himself. "I told you so, you never listen to me stupid Ishtar, who knows better of the desert? You or me?" He gave a can of hot lentils to Marik and wrapped him in the blanket.

Marik gratefully accepted the steaming bowl of lentils, tucking in straight away to try and ease the shivering in his body. He warmed further when Bakura moved closer and wrapped a blanket around him. Marik hid a smile as he swallowed - it was a nice feeling, to have someone else looking out for him.

"You don't know the desert better than me," Marik grumbled discontentedly, finishing off his lentils. "I know this time far better than you, so don't you go getting a big head, thief." However, Marik had to concede silently that Bakura had been right this time - it was far too cold at night to swim. Still, Marik did feel pleasantly clean now.

"I beg your pardon?" Bakura startled obviously offended. "I lived above the underground for many years, I survived here all by myself since I was a kid!"

"You may have survived out here as a kid, but that doesn't mean I have to obey you without question," Marik sniffed a little haughtily.

Bakura snarled, "And it hasn't changed, it's the same desert it was 5,000 years ago, the same mountain is still here, we change, we die, but the desert of Egypt has survived intact for thousands of years, so you don't get cocky, and obey me the next time, I don't want you to catch bronchitis, you would just slow me down, just eat your goddamn lentils!" Bakura wasn't the one to lecture someone but this served to distract him a little, the thief lit another fire on the other side of Marik, keeping a good distance to sleep safely and kept avoiding seeing his body, taming his hungry eyes and preventing them from just falling over his partner.

Marik noticed Bakura's strange behaviour, a small frown creasing his brow. The pale thief was avoiding looking at him, as if he was hiding something, and Marik had always been good at discerning Bakura's secrets in the past. Marik pursed his lips, turning to fix Bakura with a piercing stare. "Are you hiding something from me, thief? Come on, spill. What is it?"

"W… What do you mean? Oh, again with that? Tomorrow you will see where the ring is guiding us." The thief didn't want Marik to figure out what he had done, so he just lay down. "Cover yourself with my coat and the blanket… And dry your hair"

Marik's shivers slowed as he glanced over at Bakura, arching a brow when he thought he caught a hint of worry in the thief's tone. Would Bakura honestly care if Marik got sick? Sure, he would slow Bakura down, but there was something about the way Bakura had flared up so quickly that made Marik suspicious. Still, it was just his errant thoughts running away with themselves again. Bakura didn't care about anything.

"Wherever we are going had better be worth all this bother," Marik muttered, though he kept his gaze trained keenly on Bakura's form. There was definitely something strange going on. Bakura was refusing to look at Marik, whereas before Marik could have sworn he had caught Bakura staring at him, those brown eyes always straying to look in Marik's direction. Now, though, it was as if Bakura was deliberately trying to avoid Marik.

Deciding to test his theory, Marik edged closer until he was sitting right beside Bakura. He tilted his head, leaning closer. "How exactly am I supposed to dry my hair? It'll dry on its own eventually." Marik's smirk grew. "And I know you're hiding something else from me. You can't keep a secret from me, remember? If I'm wrong, look me in the eyes and say so." Marik's smirk widened. "Go on. Look straight at me and tell me you're not hiding something."

Bakura frowned feigning being sleepy. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not hiding something," he answered quickly, "Now if you don't mind I really am tired, what's it with you anyway? Did a desert bug bite you or what?" The thief managed to roll to face away from Marik, turning his back to him and ignoring the words from the Egyptian he soon reached some sleep.

Marik rolled his eyes at Bakura's stubbornness and decided to let it drop for that night. He pulled the sleeping bag tightly around him, wrapped himself up in the blanket, and settled down close to the fire in an effort to warm his freezing limbs. Closing his eyes, it didn't take Marik long to drift into sleep.

Later at night, Bakura started to shiver uneasily, inside his dreamings the massacre was always present, and they were always chaotic, images of spears impaling, raw flesh, flames licking the bodies… Red so much red, he always tried to scream but the voice didn't come to his throat, Bakura's body started to quiver and his breathing became ragged and hasty.

Mom, dad, all gone, he walked through the gray that the flames left, in his feet he could felt splinters and cracking forgotten things, bones maybe, and the air unbreathable, his home destroyed, a rain of ashes. The thief clenched his fists and tensed at the tragedy that kept up running over and over again in his mind.

Marik stirred a little, sensing movement by his side, a small whimper invading his sleep. Blinking his eyes open, Marik glanced up to see the stars still bright pinpricks in the sky, which meant that morning had to be very far off. Marik growled. But then the strange whimper sounded again, and Marik's eyes widened when he realised it was coming from Bakura. The thief must be having his own nightmares tonight.

Moving straight to Bakura's side, Marik frowned when he saw how tense Bakura's body was. He acted on instinct, lightly holding Bakura and pulling his head up into his lap. Marik gently sifted through Bakura's hair, humming and trying to calm him down. "Don't worry, Bakura, you're safe … it's over now, you're safe." Marik didn't know why he wanted to comfort Bakura, but he was almost certain the thief had done the same for him the night before, so it was only fair. Plus, seeing Bakura in pain made something in Marik break slightly. Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

Little Bakura walked through the ashes, looking for survivors, anybody, he walked and walked calling for someone, calling for help, he knew he was alone, they were all gone. The nightmare started to crumble when a spicy scent and a soothing warmth invaded Bakura's senses, it felt familiar and comforting. _That voice, I know that voice,_ he moved towards it, and all the loneliness choking his throat was leaving little by little, _Kul Elna_'s ashes dissolving little by little in the reality,_ What year is it? Am I dead?_ He felt himself on the ground, his head resting in something soft and warm, the thief mumbled something unintelligible.

Marik glanced down at Bakura, hearing him mumbling something but not able to make out any of the words. At least Bakura seemed to be relaxing a bit, though, his fists not clenched so tightly anymore. Marik sighed. He lightly ran his fingers through Bakura's hair, amazed at how soft the strands felt - he had never thought that anything about Bakura could be soft.

Before Marik realised what he was doing, he was bending down and his lips lightly brushed Bakura's forehead in a gentle kiss. He murmured, "It's alright, Bakura, you're safe with me now." His eyes widened and he instantly pulled back, staring down at Bakura's head in his lap with a mortified expression. Gods, he would have to keep _that_ a secret from the thief, or he would never live it down.

Bakura felt something soft in his forehead, that brought him even more towards the reality, his numbed senses slowly waking up, he opened the eyes just a bit, Marik was close, his smell reached the thief's nose, and that softness what was it? The thief glanced down and realized he was in Marik's lap. His eyes opened fully and gave a confused look at the Egyptian. "Marik?"

Marik blinked, looking down at Bakura when he heard him speak. He could feel his cheeks flushing at the confused, intense brown eyes that were peering straight at him - Bakura was obviously completely awake by now. "Uh ... yeah, uh, it's me."

Bakura drew air and his eyes slid shut again, still sleepy, "Who's cuddling who now?"

Marik cursed in his head before he turned away, shoving Bakura off his lap and growling. "I'm not cuddling. You had your arms around me."

The thief laughed a bit, then groaned at the shove, his eyes opening again. "Yes it totally looks like I was the one holding you and accidently fell in your lap."

Marik folded his arms and deliberately avoided looking at Bakura, trying not to remember the kiss he had placed on his forehead. Instead, he quizzed the thief. "You were having a nightmare this time. I didn't think anything scared the big bad thief king." Marik tossed a sly wink Bakura's way, smirking slightly.

Bakura chuckled at the attempt to wind him up. "You're the one to talk, the huge asshole father of yours had been dead for almost a decade and you're still terrified of him in your dreams aren't you? I certainly can be haunted too… For eternity."

Bakura stayed on the floor looking curiously at his partner, so he came to comfort? That was rather new considering the thick walls where he enclosed himself, away from people, Bakura wondered in silence if the boy was scared to be hurt or lose it and hurt the other person, maybe it was both. Bakura's gaze was lost in the sky. "Go to sleep Ishtar, tomorrow we have a mountain to climb"

"Don't keep calling me by my surname," Marik muttered sullenly, keeping his back turned to Bakura. He pulled his knees up into his chest, the mention of his father making him flinch and wince away from the thief as light pain tingled down the scars on his back. He sighed. There was no way he would get more sleep tonight so he edged a little closer to the fire, watching the flames flicker just like the torchlight of his childhood tomb.

Bakura came closer to him. "You don't like your surname cause it connects you to him isn't it? Well, let me tell you something, you are not like him not even in your pinky toe's nail. I'm glad he's dead, so glad I would dance over his grave, you made it right, he deserved his punishment." Something ghosted on Marik's shoulder blade. "Now could you stop feeling that disgusting self-pity? I was left all alone at a very young age, I'll be forever remembering how those guards impaled my family and threw their bodies to the fire, and you don't see me here feeling sorry for myself, I lost it all including my reason for living, and I'm still here ready to live on."

Marik flinched, his eyes widening in amazement when he felt a gentle touch on his back. He tore his gaze away from the fire to stare at Bakura in shock, surprised once again by how well the pale thief knew him and by how gentle Bakura could be. "You haven't lost everything," Marik murmured quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on Bakura. "You've got yourself, your own body now. And you have whatever foolish errand you've got me running with you." _And you have me too,_ Marik finished silently. _If you'll let me stick around._

Bakura's heart sped up at Marik's words and when their eyes locked, this was dangerous, his body wanted to move forward and be closer, his mind telling him no, so he awkwardly soft punched Marik's shoulder. "Yes. THAT foolish errand." He still was wordless though, those flaming lilac eyes had him pinned, trapped, those Egyptian flawless lips, and the memory of the moonlight glistening over a toned body, the thief felt his breath hitch and cleared his throat. "Good night… Dork," and he closed his eyes, covering them with his forearm.

Marik rubbed his shoulder, childishly poking his tongue out at Bakura before he sighed and went over to his own sleeping bag. He rolled his eyes slightly. "Your insults are getting lamer every day, thief." Marik closed his eyes, snuggling under the blanket Bakura had got for him, and he was surprised that no nightmares plagued him that night. Instead, a pair of bright brown eyes followed him into his dreams, haunting Marik even when he woke again the next morning. He groaned, still tired, and burrowed his way back under the blanket as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Bakura woke up the next morning and drank a good amount of water, he didn't himself feel tired at all, so he cracked his spine and watched amused Marik's hair in the morning. Marik sensed the eyes on him and sat up, his blond still-damp hair sticking out in all directions.

"Your hair is a mess," Bakura pointed out with a low chuckle.

Marik rolled his eyes. "Well observed, thief." He turned and burrowed back down under his blankets, firmly shutting his eyes again.

Bakura sent a sharp grin Marik's way and turned, he sighed to see the path they were to take that day, good thing the mountain wasn't very high, but still this body wasn't as strong as the one he had back in the day, he sat and munched his meat. "We're climbing today, but first I'll take a bath, good thing the air is not as cold as it is at night."

Marik groaned again, swatting feebly at Bakura. "I don't care - leave me alone."

Marik kept his eyes closed as he heard Bakura leaving to bathe, burrowed determinedly under the blanket, but eventually the sun got too bright and Marik knew he would have to wake up properly. So once Bakura was fully out of earshot, Marik scrambled to his feet, scratching at his hair which had dried messily overnight. He sighed and wandered to his backpack, managing to find a hairbrush and tugging through his blond locks, styling them as best he could out in the desert. Marik tried to keep his thoughts pure, but knowing that Bakura was bathing very close by made Marik more bothered than he expected it to.

The thief made his way to the oasis and washed quickly, his body was sticky with sweat, after all 2 days in the desert is not a good way to stay clean. When the thief went back, he cleaned their messy camping things and muttered low words at the ring before he turned to Marik with a smirk. "Ready?"

Marik arched a brow, watching Bakura with the ring with a close, keen eye. "Mm, I'm ready. What are you doing with that ring?"

"None of your business," Bakura growled, extending an arm to the Egyptian, "We need to go now, we spend too long at camps."

Marik glared right back at the thief. "Yes, no thanks to you. How long does it take you to bathe, honestly?" Trying not to imagine Bakura naked, Marik glared in the opposite direction and sniffed huffily.

"Oh sure, it isn't your fault at all," Bakura rolled his eyes before moving to pack up their camp. Marik stood and followed, aiding him in clearing away their remains before they moved on across the desert, continuing their journey.


	5. Chapter 5

Marik wandered irritably after Bakura, the desert sun beating down at them from overhead. The sand was almost unbearably hot to walk on, even through the soles of Marik's well-worn sandals. He folded his arms and sent Bakura a sidelong glare. "Can you tell me where we're going now? I'm getting fed up of just blindly following you everywhere."

Bakura breathed deep. "Shut up already, if you're so whiny about it you can return home with your family, is not that I would notice anyway." The words didn't sound true even to him, the thief winced at his words but started to walk towards the mountain, climbing the pass that led up to its peak. It was a hard way to go and he started to feel very sore, but Bakura knew he was close, he had to reach there, and stubbornly quickened the pace.

"Oh, you wouldn't notice if I left?" Marik hated to admit it, but that actually hurt him a bit. He scowled, focusing on his feet as he tried not to trip on his way up the mountain. "You should never have asked me along then. Gods know why you did - I wasn't exactly expecting it."

"Yes , gods know why… They plan to punish me somehow I know," Bakura talked breathlessly, the climb was hard especially for this body, why was Ryou so weak.

The thief reached a plane and he knew he was in the right place, the ring pointed to some kind of wall in the mountain. "I'm the most selfish person in this world because I brought you here for my own interests."

"…What?!" Marik stood still in shock, his eyes going wide. He stared at Bakura's back as the thief continued on up the mountain, stopping at a flat plane just up ahead of them. Marik blinked several times. "Why on earth would you want to bring me here?"

Bakura recovered his breath, maybe it was the lack of oxygen, but he wasn't sure why he was telling all this to the Egyptian. "I told you already, I am your thief."

Marik stared at Bakura, his shock apparent on his face. What on earth made Bakura say that? Struggling to get himself back under control, Marik merely stared at the pale thief for a long moment.

Bakura smirked at the same time he wiped the sweat running on his face, through stuck strands of white and inspected the wall. "Not breached, I am indeed the King of Thieves," he murmured in a quiet voice, "Marik, this is the place, give me the _ankh._"

Marik's brow furrowed as he recovered from his shock – Bakura was apparently back to his usual, grumpy, sullen self. Marik crossed his arms stubbornly across his chest. "My thief? What the hell do you mean? Explain yourself right now, and you're not getting your _ankh_ until I'm satisfied with your answer." Marik kept his hands folded across the front of his black jacket, knowing the ankh was hidden in his inside pocket. He wasn't going to let Bakura steal it from him.

Bakura growled at his careless words and tried to explain himself, running his hand through his hair "Didn't I steal you? You're here with me aren't you? When your siblings come home, you'll not be there. Now give me that, I am really really anxious to use it!" Bakura extended the hand demanding the item as quickly as possible.

"You stole me?" Marik shook his head, actually smirking slightly as he looked at Bakura. He shifted his hips, grinning widely at the pale thief and enjoying the fact that he finally had a bit of control back - as long as the ankh was in his pocket, Bakura was _his_. "And just why exactly would you want to do that, hm? My siblings are going to be furious that I've just disappeared."

Bakura used a mocking tone "Oh my, Rishid and Ishizu furious, _Osiris_ please don't allow it," he shifted on his feet and lifted his voice, "Come on Marik this is not the time to be bratty! I did all you wanted me to do, now do your part!" He stepped towards the Egyptian with the most threatening face on his collection.

Marik smirked as Bakura approached, not in the least dissuaded by his threatening features. "Oh come on, Bakura, stay civil. You know I'm not bratty." Marik grinned wider as he skipped back a couple of steps, dancing firmly out of Bakura's reach. He slipped one hand into his jacket pocket and took out the ankh, waving it teasingly in front of Bakura's face with a bright grin. "Tell me just exactly why you wanted me to come with you, or you're not getting this."

The thief turned his back on the Egyptian, he just couldn't see his face now he had to admit he wanted Marik here, and that it was all part of a big scheme. "I told you before you're a way to entertain myself, after all I… have no other people I know, you have been the only one who I have worked with," he felt his cheeks were burning.

Curiousity burning in his gut, Marik sidled around Bakura, squinting as he tried to get a look at his face. Marik's brows shot up when he saw the red decorating Bakura's pale cheeks. The thief was … blushing?! That was not something Marik ever expected to see. "Bakura," Marik asked, genuine confusion in his tone now, "Are you embarrassed?"

The thief turned his face away. "I am not embarrassed! I just… I didn't want to come here by myself…" The thief took a deep steady breath and looked at the wall. "The ankh Marik, you have extended this deal far too much."

Marik grinned when Bakura turned his back, hiding his face. Clearly, this was bothering him more than he was willing to admit. "But, Bakura, you've always struck me as a bit of a loner. It was hard enough to get you to work with me last time - why would you invite me along when this could have been a solo mission?"

Bakura frowned and replied in a harsh tone. "Was it? There wasn't even a minute of hesitation when I sunk the knife in my own arm for you to use Ryou, as always, I did what you wanted in the moment you wanted it! I even gained all the stupid location cards in hours! Two times I woke up for you even when I was injured!"

Marik arched a brow. "You also abandoned me to save your pathetic host in one of our duels, Bakura. Or had you conveniently forgotten that?"

"I wasn't going to allow that pharaoh take away my only body!" Bakura hissed. "You do realize that bastard was going to release _Slipher_'s attack right? It was too risky, Ryou's soul is too special, he was the only one who could wield the _Sennen Ring_. Do you think Atem could be hosted in any body besides Yugi's? You don't understand the connection one must have with the person who possess a _Sennen Item_, it's destiny, and you can't fight destiny."

Marik's eyes widened before narrowing dangerously. He hissed at Bakura, tightening his grip stubbornly around the _ankh _as he glared straight at the pale thief, brows drawn very low. "Oh, well, if _Ryou_ is so special and it's _destiny _then maybe you should be here with him instead of me." Turning with a huff, Marik faced away from Bakura, growling quietly. Marik could very well hear the jealousy in his own tone, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It just hurt that Bakura put Ryou first, even if it was a long time ago.

Bakura frowned "What? Why should I…?" _Wait… Could Marik be jealous? Impossible, he has such a big ego. Why would he? _"Ryou was special because he was the only one who I could possess, now that I don't need a body why would he be anyone special? He was just made to serve a purpose. If I wanted him instead of you wouldn't he be easier to bring? I could have made him come even if he didn't want to, but to bring you here I had to make a huge deal, buy a stupid motorcycle, and chase you everywhere! Do you think I wouldn't have been able to extract something non-guarded from the museum? I could do that when I was 5!"

Marik blinked, relaxing slightly as Bakura's words made their way into his skull. He swallowed. It was the first time Bakura had actually admitted to wanting Marik around, and he smiled slightly, though it quickly turned into an arrogant smirk. Marik span back around to face Bakura, finding him much closer. "You bought a motorcycle just to come and drag me along on this trip?"

"I knew you would want to bring that stupid machine with you," Bakura smirked slightly, still troubled for just having to be honest with the Egyptian, and spilling more than he would want to.

"Stupid machine? That is my baby." Marik sniffed haughtily, though a grin perked his lips up.

"But Marik," the thief purred playfully remembering the conversation of yesterday, "Wasn't I your precious baby?" And then he smiled with still worried eyes.

At Bakura's purr, Marik's eyes went comically wide, a dark flush instantly covering his cheeks. "My … my precious baby…" _How can Bakura still manage to get to me like this?_ Marik swallowed, struggling to get back in control of himself, and closed his eyes. He sniffed. "And it's about time you got your own bike, they are what truly make us manly."

"Manly?" Bakura snorted with laughter. "Accept it already Marik, you look everything but manly in that outfit."

Marik huffed. "I do too look manly! You wouldn't know manly if it hit you in the face." He sniffed haughtily, folding his arms and steadfastly looking anywhere but directly at Bakura. "I still don't see what I'm doing here."

Bakura laughed again at the stubborn face of the Egyptian, Marik was too adorable when he looked like that, the thief got closer and mumbled. "You're the only one who will understand how I'm going to feel when I open that door."

Marik's expression softened slightly after Marik caught sight of Bakura's eyes. They were burning. Marik blinked, placing a careful hand on Bakura's shoulder as he tilted his head, a crease appearing in his brow. He bit his bottom lip. "What's behind the door, Bakura?"

The thief felt his stomach warm and he shifted a bit when he felt the hand of Marik over his shoulder, such a small touch and it was already causing so much change inside of him. "Behind that door is all the remains of my past life, the treasure of the Thief King, and also…" He tried to swallow but his throat was dry from the sun and the anticipation "What is left from Kul-Elna, including the few things I could have from my own home."

Tilting his head, Marik followed Bakura's eyeline to the door set in the mountain. Bakura's words made Marik go still, and now he understood what Bakura had meant when he said that Marik was the only one who would understand how he would feel. Marik's voice softened further. "Then I'll be honoured to stand by your side." And without another word, Marik held the _ankh _out for Bakura to take.

Bakura took the _ankh_ from the hands of the blond and stepped next to the wall, he slid the key with an ear leaned on the sandy rock and his eyes closed, he moved in one direction and then to the contrary, it looked like when you're unlocking a safe deposit box, but the devices inside sounded like gliding stones, a few movements later something on the inside snapped. Bakura opened his eyes to see a small crack in the wall, the wall split into two and a small entrance was visible on the inside. The thief took a small lamp from his backpack. "Come Marik… I'll show you the lair that belongs to the _King of Thieves._"

A strange clicking noise sounded as Bakura unlocked the door, and Marik risked looking back over at the thief in time to see the wall split in two and reveal a hidden lair behind the mountain. Despite himself, Marik's jaw dropped. He moved forwards in awe, standing right beside Bakura as he grabbed Bakura's hand for support. Marik was speechless, but his expression said it all. "What … how have you kept that hidden for so long?"

Bakura's face went automatically red when his hand was wrapped by Marik's warm fingers, but when he saw the blond's expression he chortled. "Who would look inside a random mountain? We're not far from the Valley of Kings but not close enough to suspect there's anything in here, and also I didn't know, I half-expected to find a tourist attraction profaning my treasure, after all, 5,000 years has passed. But I guess I'm smarter than most people." The thief smiled smugly and extracted a lamp from the backpack. "And the key was so humble and weird nobody would think it's an actual key." Turning the light on, he stepped forward to the door, pulling Marik gently "Are you coming, or do I have to give you a written invitation?"

Marik snorted slightly, though he kept his fingers tightly wrapped around Bakura's as the pale thief pulled him forwards. Marik scoffed. "5,000 tears, pfft. 10,000 and maybe then I would be impressed." Marik winked at Bakura to soften his words. Moving on through the concealed doorway, Marik gazed around with a blatantly awestruck expression covering his face. He let loose a low whistle, the gold and riches from 5000 years ago glinting temptingly up at him. He chuckled. "A thief's hoard for a thief king. How very fitting, Bakura."

Bakura smiled at the sight of his loot, rich jars, vases, statues, weapons, masks, ceremonial artefacts, even golden carriages wheels, the payment of a life of pillage, all looked like how he left it, only with the dust expected from ancient objects, he walked forwards with the widest smirk in his repertory. "Ah look at that, the treasure of Atem's father." His hand got sweaty and trembling. "From there to there, all of this was in his tomb, it took 3 days to extract it all, it was so well guarded but I managed to get inside, I took the sarcophagus, pulled out the mummy, and I presented it to Atem, could you imagine his face?" He talked and gesticulated like an old man would talk about war, excited and melancholic. He looked at his duel disk. "Look, Ishtar, this was our duel disks back in the day, charged with real magic." The thief walked from side to side showing Marik the objects and giving a small story of them.

Marik followed Bakura around the cave full of glittering, bright treasure, gold and jewels sparkling out at them from every nook and cranny. He was … impressed. Awestruck, in fact. He had known Bakura was a good thief, but until now Marik had never truly appreciated the extent of his spoils. This room was incredible.

The thief made a quick span and strode to a chest in the corner and kneeled before it to open it, taking the lamp between his head and shoulder. "This was in another king's tomb, take off that fantasy garbage you have on your wrists right now, I don't even know why are you wearing that fake stuff with those good earrings." He took two solid bracelets with amethyst _Khepers_ on them. "Try these on." He handed them to him.

"I…" Marik found himself speechless, for probably the first time in his life. He outstretched a hand when Bakura offered him the bracelets, taking them without complaint even though Bakura had insulted his own gold. Marik inspected the jewels, the amethysts matching his eyes and making them glow in the darkness. He slipped them on quickly, the gold surprisingly warm against his skin.

Bakura smiled when he saw the ornaments on Marik's wrists, those were worthy of his name, it's what Marik meant right? _King_, brown eyes were fixed on the Egyptian, it was like he couldn't turn around to anywhere else, which was absurd, because the tantalizing gold glistened everywhere, but those lavender gems had the bright of no other, he noticed he was staring and turned his face to the chest, closing it again carefully.

Marik noticed Bakura staring, and it made a funny feeling take hold in his stomach. Whenever Bakura's brown eyes strayed to him, Marik couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of flattery, pride, and nerves. But why on earth should he feel nervous? Nothing ever got to Marik, he wouldn't let anyone close enough, but Bakura had managed to break down all his defences yet again. He glanced down, playing with the new golden bracelets adorning his wrists. _A gift from Bakura…_

"Bakura…" Marik managed when he finally got himself together enough to speak. "How did you manage this? I mean, I knew you were a thief, but I had no idea…" He shook his head, turning to smirk slightly at the pale thief. "I hope you realise your gold supply will be severely depleted by the time I walk out of here."

"I started thieving at a very young age, I had the strength to survive and got better at it every time, I became what my village would like me to, the best bandit in Upper and Lower Egypt." The thief rose on his feet and walked to a small stone hall. "Well I kind of expected that already, after all you're also a thief, aren't you, Mr. I-have-to-collect-all-the-rare-cards-that-don't-belong-to-me? What happened to those? Did you have to give them back since now you're such a good kid?"

Marik sighed, but then he growled playfully at Bakura's last words. He span to face the pale thief, sticking one hand on his hip to strike a deliberately arrogant pose. "Hey, I had just as much of a right to those cards as anyone else. The Egyptian Gods would have worked for me!" He snickered slightly, pointing at Bakura with a sly grin. "You can hardly talk, anyway. Wasn't it the Gods that the Pharaoh used to bring you down, thief?"

Bakura turned his body around and scoffed. "For your own source of information, that wouldn't have happened if some obnoxious teenager wasn't in my head distracting me you know? Oh but the almighty Ishtar felt the need to stick his nose in my duel!" Then he kept walking, moving objects and picking some of his rings, they wouldn't fit anymore, he looked at his now small fingers and cursed lowly the little body he was given this time.

"I was not sticking my nose in your duel! I was advising you on how to fight it properly!" Marik seethed, glaring at Bakura. He huffed loudly. "And if you had followed my instructions instead of going off and doing your own thing, we wouldn't have lost and I'd never have had to give in to the stupid Pharaoh anyway." Marik sighed and span back around, admiring the gold that glittered around them. He strode across the chamber, examining all the artefacts, and scooping up a pair of earrings and an armband that especially caught his eye. He turned back to Bakura, but his violet eyes had dimmed slightly. "To answer your question; yes, I had to give the rare cards back, along with my Rod and your Ring. Everything changed when you were gone, Bakura - I had no one to fight my battles with me."

"Oh right, but you wouldn't have to fight anymore right? Cause you were too busy being an innocent b…" Bakura's mocking tone died in his throat when he found a deep bowl made of clay, painted with small fishes in the Nile. It was the painting of a small child, the darkness morphed in the faint ghost of memory of his mother with her hands dipped in yeast and water, in that moment Bakura wasn't sure if his legs could support him anymore.

Marik huffed, turning away with his lips twisted bitterly. He continued searching the chamber, truly amazed by the sheer amount of treasure there was here. The gold enticed him, reminding Marik of his time when he coveted a power above his station. It was dangerous, but thrilling at the same time. Much like being with Bakura. Marik found his fingers itching as he gazed at all the treasure.

That was, until he heard Bakura's slight intake of breath behind him.

In an instant, Marik flitted to the pale thief's side, worried when Bakura looked like he might fall at any second. Marik grabbed Bakura's arms, supporting him as he peered carefully into Bakura's eyes, frowning. "Bakura? What's wrong? Are you ok?"

Turning, Marik saw a bowl that Bakura was staring at. It didn't seem remarkable - in fact, the bowl paled into the background compared to all the jewels in this magnificent hoard of treasure - but for some reason Bakura couldn't take his eyes off it. Marik hazarded a careful guess as he held Bakura gently. "Is that bowl from _Kul Elna_?"

The memory faded into silence, Bakura tried to reach for it, but his hand only waved in the air; in that moment Bakura had wished it wouldn't, he wanted to see that face again, hear that voice again, and play with that long white hair… Old pain stings pinned his body and he collapsed in Marik's arms. "It was not only from _Kul Elna_, it was my mother's…"

Marik caught Bakura easily, holding the pale thief close to him. Heat instantly flooded his cheeks, flushing them a dark brown, but Marik was too enraptured with Bakura's words to pay attention to his body's unfathomable reactions. He listened in awe, gently cradling Bakura against him. Before he knew what he was doing, Marik was threading the fingers of one hand gently through Bakura's hair, the other tight around his shoulders as he rocked him gently.

Bakura gulped softly remembering the scent that came from her, it was almonds, not like the ashes he smelled that day, the thief's eyes shut. "She made that bowl with her own hands, she was so skillful, I thought it looked too empty and I… I wanted to have a small bowl of fishes, fishes were difficult to find if you were not near the river, we had a small population, only 90 people, they were all bandits, thieves, yes but there weren't bad people, they only wanted to survive." His face buried in the Egyptian's arm. "She wasn't a criminal you know, she just fell in love with one, apparently that was a big crime"

"It's beautiful," Marik breathed, his eyes caught on the bowl which had at first looked so simple. He glanced down and saw the pain in Bakura's gaze. No wonder - Marik couldn't imagine how it felt to have your whole family ripped away in one horrendous slaughter, their bodies burned and trapped in gold for all eternity … Marik shuddered, even the thought making him break out in a cold sweat.

"Falling in love with a criminal isn't a crime," Marik murmured without thinking, gazing straight at Bakura. "Criminals are always the most interesting people."

Bakura frowned. _Mother said the same. Could it be true? That you can fall in love with someone because that person is too interesting? If that's true wouldn't I be in love with..?_ His eyes shut down forcefully. _Oh curses, it can't be_.

Marik was, of course, completely oblivious to Bakura's thoughts. He blinked, keeping Bakura close against him as he examined the bowl more closely. The fishes on the side were crudely drawn; obviously the work of a child. Marik tilted his head. "So you painted those when you were young?"

"Yes." Bakura interrupted his troubling thoughts, talking still buried in the bronzed arm. "My dad thought they were hideous," he made a shallow laughter, "But he brought me fish to eat that night, he stole it from the nearest village."

"Well I must admit," Marik chuckled quietly, looking at the fish on the side of the bowl, "You aren't exactly the next _Picasso_. Coming from an artist, you need a bit more practise." Marik laughed, his breath tickling Bakura's neck as he kept the pale thief pressed tightly against his chest. It was strangely pleasant to have Bakura so close to him.

Bakura laughed heartily. "I don't even know who that is."

"You've never heard of Picasso?" Marik chuckled. "Famous artist. True genius. Gods, I am going to have to educate you." Marik grinned and held Bakura tightly, fingers once again playing with his hair. Marik was deciding he really rather liked Bakura's hair.

The scent of Marik's skin was inhaled by the thief's nostrils, he really was here, with his former partner in crime, he was right about the fact that he couldn't handle this alone after all this time, not without the haunting voices of _Kul Elna_, he was going to be in here, a solitary sad mess on the floor. He had dragged the boy here, selfish, alluring him with freedom and adventure, but he just wanted to feel that someone cared, he had already shared a body, a mind, and a soul with the Egyptian, if there was someone who could make him feel like those times were gone it was Marik.

After another deep inhale Bakura noticed the softness that was his friend, he wanted to be even closer, how much more could he be? The thief rubbed his face with his hands, this was getting ridiculous, it was humiliating enough being vulnerable in front of somebody, he certainly wasn't going to shed a tear in front of Marik, so he got submerged in another story. "My dad was a great thief, he wanted to be the best in the world, he wanted to be known as the _Thief King._"

"Your dad wanted to be the _Thief King_?" So that's where the title came from. Marik had always wondered how Bakura came to be known as the _Thief King_, and it made sense that it was something he carried on from his family. Marik smirked slightly. "Well, you took up that title pretty well. Your father would have been very proud of you." _Unlike mine…_

Marik noticed Bakura rub his eyes and frowned, wondering if the thief was perhaps crying. Marik wouldn't be surprised - he knew if he ever had to revisit the tomb of his childhood then Marik would be a puddle of emotion on the floor by now. But Bakura was still so strong. Marik felt a strange pull in his chest as he realised what Bakura had shared with him; this was so personal, and it flattered Marik that Bakura had chosen him to share in this journey.

Suddenly pulling Bakura closer, Marik wrapped him up in a tight hug, burying his head in his shoulder. Bakura's scent surrounded Marik, comforting him, and he smiled slightly. "Thanks for bringing me here, thief. Whatever your reasons were."

When Marik held him, the thief's chest warmed up with the closeness, and his pulse quickened, he got even more nervous at the thought of the other noticing his pounding heart, it all came together at full force, these days with him, the memory of his body, the sun, the tiredness, the emotions. "I didn't want to be alone, and I thought I wanted to be with someone, and in my thoughts there was you, Marik, I think l…" _I love you… WHAT? _Bakura's breathing stopped. Was that true? Could he feel something like that? Even thinking about it was outrageous, he felt the same panic he had the time he was caught with his arms around his companion, the thief spluttered. "I… I like your company." His body tensed.

"You … you like my company?" Marik's eyes were wide as he held Bakura against him, amazed by the tone of Bakura's voice. He could feel the thief's heart pounding, the way there was a slight edge to his voice that Marik had never heard before. Swallowing, Marik leaned back just enough to meet Bakura's eyes. Marik was trembling a little. He recognised Bakura's expression – it was the same he had held the night of Marik's nightmare, when he had awoken in Bakura's arms, and Marik found he wanted that feeling again. He didn't know why, couldn't explain it to himself – it was completely irrational, in fact – but Marik was completely ensnared by Bakura. _Damn thief probably planned this_, Marik thought wryly.

"Is … is that all?" Marik asked quietly. "You like my company?" He blinked, closing his eyes. In truth, he suspected – hoped, even – that Bakura felt at least something similar to what Marik did. But that was impossible. Bakura was a thief, a criminal, and a liar. _But it isn't a crime to fall in love with a criminal…_

Bakura felt the heat rising to his cheeks, Marik was looking at him so suspiciously. Maybe he knew? Was he being blatantly obvious? Cold sweat slid from his sideburns as he tried to reply, but nothing was coming out from his mouth, a hesitating hand circled the Egyptian. "Nobody has held me before, I mean since I was a boy."

Marik blinked, his body shivering as he felt Bakura's arm tentatively wrap around him. He swallowed. This was new – Bakura had never willingly touched him before. Bakura tried to process everything that was happening around him, he was in his only home, being embraced, feeling like he was melting, what did it all mean? Did friends hug like this? Or just lovers? Is his partner only trying to make him feel better or he really liked being like this? Too many confusing thoughts and no answers, but he couldn't pull himself to ask Marik, he wasn't going to risk this, so he concentrated on enjoying the firm embrace. Bakura's eyes ran to the other items from _Kul Elna_, but the pain wasn't there anymore, it was replaced by something comforting, so he ventured to speak. "Don't you like my company?"

Marik smiled slightly. "Of course I like your company. Why else would I have followed you all the way here? Never mind putting up with all your nonsense." Marik didn't know what was going on here, but he could tell that Bakura was behaving … differently. The pale thief never let anyone this close to him, but here Marik was, standing in the remnants of Bakura's home with Bakura held in his arms.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here, have your second update of the night, because I couldn't resist the thiefshipping XD**

"You've never struck me as much of a cuddler." Marik struggled to keep his voice conversational as he pointedly glanced at Bakura's arms around him. "Not that I'm complaining."

Bakura's eyes opened fully, suddenly the thief felt self-conscious and scowled "I'm not cuddling, you are the one cuddling me, like those nights before, I have nothing to do with this and…" _He's not complaining? That's kind of good… What the hell is happening to me?_ Bakura's eyes landed on the pot with the fishes again. _What would she say?_

The thief groaned in frustration, he didn't want to leave Marik's arms, but his partner was already looking at him with an incredulous face. "We have to get going on checking the place." Bakura pulled out of Marik's embrace in a slow gentle way, it felt like being in a comfortable bed and not wanting to come to reality, but he had to, the thief didn't know what to do in these situations.

Marik frowned when Bakura pulled away from him, a slight crease appearing in his brow. Before he could stop himself, his hand reached out for Bakura. "No, come back…" _Damn it, what did I say that for?_ Quickly spinning around, Marik steadfastly looked away from Bakura, biting down on the inside of his cheek. His face felt warm again.

Bakura stood stupefied, he wasn't sure if he heard correctly, he wasn't even sure what was real anymore, he got close tentatively but Marik had already enclosed himself again, Bakura cursed in his mind.

"You're the one who starts cuddling, not me," Marik mumbled, folding his arms and shifting uncomfortably. His heart was beating far too quickly in his chest, his hands fluttering a little so he balled them up into fists so Bakura wouldn't notice. _What has got into me? Damn thief…_

Swallowing, Marik glanced around the chamber, violet eyes glittering with reflected gold. He drew in a low breath, struggling to keep his voice even so that Bakura wouldn't tell that something was wrong. "So what are we looking for?"

When the boy spoke again, the thief sighed in defeat and walked through the mess of valuable objects. "We're looking for things to sale, over these months I found good antique traffickers, I will have to take items that have no magic, so, most of them." The thief started collecting objects in a sack that took half of his backpack, Bakura flushed and turned his face away from Marik. "Keep what you want for your personal use."

Marik watched Bakura set about sifting through the treasure, chewing his lip. He found himself staring at his partner, watching the way his long white hair streamed down his back, the grace and speed with which his hands moved, swift with the practise of a thief.

"Huh?" Marik blinked, shaking himself back to reality when Bakura spoke to him. _I have got to focus. I can't slip up around Bakura now. _Marik wandered around the chamber, running his hands lightly through the gold. "I can keep anything I want? My, my, a thief giving away his treasure. That has to be a first."

"Don't get used to it Ishtar, I'm just making your journey worth it, after all you did left your beloved siblings to join me, and if I learned something in all these years is that this treasure shouldn't be only here waiting for nothing, I risked my life and my men's gathering it, I should enjoy its benefits too." Bakura picked up a gold cup, some random accessories and an embedded sword, and threw them into the sack, when he lifted it on his shoulder he had an enormous feeling of _déjà vu._

Continuing to scour through the gold, Marik picked up the more promising items - necklaces, bracelets, amulets, and others - and added them to his backpack before copying Bakura and slinging it over his shoulder. He grinned. "This should definitely be worth my while. But trust me, Bakura, I would take your company over my siblings' any day." _In fact, I'd rather be with you the whole time_… He paused in his thoughts when he saw a glimmering ring of gold, far superior to anything he owned, and his eyes glittered. Marik picked up the ring and slipped it on his finger, grinning as he turned back to Bakura. "I'm definitely keeping this."

When the thief heard Marik's voice he got close and examined the finger with the ring on. "Yes, this one, it belonged to a king of _Nubia_, the legend said only true rulers could make use of this ring, then I think it suits you fairly well." Bakura winked.

"Did you just call me a true ruler?" Marik stared incredulously at Bakura before a wide grin decorated his lips. He examined the ring proudly. "Well, I think it's very fitting that I should wear it, then. It's far too rich for a lowly thief." There was a teasing lilt to Marik's voice as he tossed Bakura a wink.

"Well you did control like 60 people or more didn't you? And you're such a megalomaniac too." The thief scoffed. "Yeah, a lowly super smart and amazing thief that is million times richer than a small gravekeeper with delusions of _grandeur_… Speaking of grandeur I got this for you too." Bakura handed to him a sceptre that had a faint resemblance to the _Sennen Rod._ "It's not magic but it also suits you."

Marik took the sceptre, eyes going wide with shock when the gold was so familiar under his fingers. Just like his Rod … flashbacks pressed faintly on his skull, of the Rod wielded by his father, stabbing into his back. Pain flared down his scars. Marik shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment before stashing the gold sceptre in his belt where he had always kept the Rod. "Tombkeeper working with a tombrobber; how very fitting." Marik smirked over at Bakura, hiding the flashback behind a proud expression.

"Yes, back in the day if you_ lived_, maybe my fate would have been different…" The thief trailed off on his own thoughts, if Marik had been there in the tomb, alive, both could have taken the palace down easily, also he wouldn't have to be alone for so many years.

"I think I would have liked to live in Ancient Egypt." Marik murmured. "As long as it was above ground. I can't stand anywhere enclosed." Marik shuddered, closing his eyes as he remembered the tomb of his childhood. How different would his life have been, if he was born at the same time as Bakura?

Bakura smirked back and left his sack on the floor, poking his head through the door to look at the afternoon sky on the horizon. "It's getting late, maybe it would be safer to stay here, I doubt somebody is out in the desert at this hour, but if we go down there right now you'll probably go splashing in the oasis and get the cold of your life." That made Bakura laugh in a malevolent way.

Marik moved to Bakura's side, unconsciously leaning close to the thief as he peered out into the desert, noticing the setting sun sending spirals of colour dancing through the sky. The first stars were already out.

"We'd better stay here," Marik agreed with a jerk of his head. "It'll be warmer." He laughed, shaking his head as he remembered the freezing water. "There's no way in hell that I'm ever bathing this late again. Though I'm sure you'd just love it if I did - I still don't put it past you to peep at me."

Bakura's gaze fixated on the sands getting darker with the lack of light but when Marik commented at him peeping Bakura choked in his own saliva and coughed. "What?! Why would you think that?!"

Marik grinned, opening his eyes again to fix Bakura with a hard stare. "Well, it was only a joke, thief. I didn't really think you would spy on me. Or…" Marik narrowed his eyes, taking a step closer and placing his hands on Bakura's shoulders to hold him in place. He gazed intently at the thief, trying to discern his expression. "Is there something you want to tell me? _Did_ you peep?"

The thief's eyes widened. _Oh gods, I'll be damned._ "I… I did NOT. Why should I spy on you?" _Liar._ Bakura summoned all his will power to not blush, shoved away from his mind any remains of what he saw that night, even when what he saw warmed up his body every single time he remembered, he prayed inwardly to not be caught this time, if Marik knew he did that without permission only the gods know what he would do, the Egyptian was too temperamental, Bakura couldn't predict his reaction, so he hid his nervousness in a deep frown and wriggled to get free of Marik's tight hold. "I have better things to do, you know?"

Marik shook his head, not buying Bakura's words. He peered closer, keeping his grip tight on Bakura's shoulders to make sure the thief couldn't escape as he searched his expression. Bakura was fidgeting, looking away from Marik, and Marik was sure he was lying about something. "Bakura," Marik taunted, "I can tell when you're lying you know." He moved closer, turning the thief to face him with a hand on his chin as Marik narrowed his eyes at him. "Come on, you're hiding something. What did you do?"

The thief bit his tongue. Maybe knowing the other person completely wasn't unidirectional, Marik knew him too much as well, more than he would want the Egyptian to, denying he did something wasn't going to work, he needed a plan, a quick plan, so he thought of saying a half-truth, but he already felt the warmth in his cheeks, he talked really fast in a fake annoyed tone. "I followed you to stop you, you were going to bathe in freezing water for gods sake! And I maybe saw a little, but I left quickly after that, it was really dark so no harm is done, is that what you wanted to hear?"

Marik's brows shot up as he heard Bakura's words. He struggled to keep his composure, but the thought of Bakura actually watching whilst Marik bathed set his heart racing and made his palms sweat slightly. Marik drew in a shaky breath. He couldn't let Bakura see how nervous he suddenly was, so instead Marik hid behind a smirk.

"You saw a little?" Marik shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts on one track. "But you … how did you … I didn't see you at all…" He closed his eyes, concentrating, before opening them again and arching a brow Bakura's way. "And it's still bothering you now? What, did you like what you saw that much?" Marik moved away with a slight snicker, turning his face away so Bakura wouldn't pick up on his warm cheeks.

Bakura's heart was jumping around but he needed to sustain the deception. "Of course you didn't see me; you were busy getting inside the extra cold big puddle." _Did I like it that much? That will not let me live never again._ "Don't get cocky."

Marik span around to face Bakura again, shock and mortification making his violet eyes wide. "You saw me get in the oasis…" That had to mean that Bakura had seen him completely naked. Marik's face got hot again_. Damn it all, what has that thief done to me? _He released Bakura's shoulders and looked back out at the desert, swallowing as he tried to get some moisture back into his mouth.

The thief felt relieved when Marik left his shoulders behind, but now this was clearly bothering the Egyptian so he tried to turn the events around with a bit of old style mischief. "What? The boy is shy? We're both males aren't we? I could see your body right now and you wouldn't have anything weird would you?" Bakura's blood boiled at the thought.

Turning away, Marik sniffed and stuck his nose in the air, trying not to show Bakura how bothered he was. He swallowed, coughing before he dared to speak, attempting to keep his tone even. "We may both be male, but that does not make it ok for you to spy on me. Why the hell would you even want to see me naked? I mean, I know I look good, but seriously…"

_Curses… _Again Bakura's mouth was too reckless for his own good, his thoughts and words were all betraying him, he shouldn't have said that. "I wasn't spying on you! I told you I was going to stop you from doing something stupid, but you did it anyway!" _And who in this world wouldn't want to see your body anyway? Yes I wanted to see you so badly. Shoot me._ Bakura stomped to the hall's interior, all had failed, so there was only one way: run away. So he sat on a golden chair and started making piles of coins and mocked Marik's voice. "It's not okay for you to spy on me." Bakura emitted a low growl.

Marik whirled around to face Bakura again, shocked by the anger apparent in his tone. He saw Bakura sitting down, poking through the coins and imitating Marik very badly. Marik scowled. "Don't sulk, Bakura, it's extremely unattractive. And honestly, if you wanted to see me naked that badly you could have just asked! It isn't like I would have said no…"

Marik's eyes flew wide open and his hands went straight to cover his mouth. _Damn it, damn it, damn it! Damn it all to hell and back! Why on EARTH would I say that…?! _Cursing himself, Marik turned his back on Bakura and fled to the other side of the chamber, squeezing his eyes shut and balling his hands into fists. _I am such an idiot._ He shivered, dreading to think of what Bakura would say to that, and distracted himself by playing with the items of gold again.

A rain of coins fell down from Bakura's hands when he heard Marik's words, his small piles crumbled when he stood, he wasn't even thinking anymore, his feet commanded themselves, he just ran to the side of the room where his partner was and stopped behind him, his breathing hitched, and his cheeks were tinted pink, between sharp intakes of breath he could speak "Marik, I want to see your back."

Marik froze. He could sense Bakura behind him, hear the breaths that escaped the thief, knew that Bakura's eyes were burning straight into him. It made him shake. Marik closed his eyes, cheeks still flaring from his earlier slip-up, his hands balled into tight fists by his sides. His voice broke. "Why … why would you want to see my back? Of all the things…"

Bakura was aware of the magnitude of the thing he was requesting, he was asking Marik to sink in his past, but it was something inevitable, Bakura himself did it a few hours earlier, and he needed this reciprocity, it was unfair that his soul now was exposed to the Egyptian, he needed to be closer, as close as Marik went. "I want to see the key with my own eyes."

Marik's shoulders drooped. He swallowed, staring down and scuffing his toes against the ground. He growled quietly. "Not my back, Bakura. It's…"_ Ugly, stupid, hateful. Not something I want to share. Shameful. Embarrassing_. "…I don't want you to see…"

Bakura saw the nervousness in Marik's body and got closer. "It's something you promised." his palm positioned in between of Marik's shoulder blades.

Marik jumped as soon as he felt Bakura's palm against his back, but Bakura's touch was surprisingly gentle. Marik screwed his eyes shut. His whole body rocked with tension as he drew in a careful breath. "They're ugly, Bakura. I don't want you to see." But, it was unusual for the thief to ask such a thing. And after all, Bakura was right - Marik had once promised to show him his scars. It was only fair that he upheld his end of the deal.

Gritting his teeth, Marik pulled roughly forwards. He kept his back turned to Bakura, not wanting to reveal his dark cheeks or burning emotions as his hands went to the hem of his shirt. Without another word, Marik pulled the material over his head, baring his scarred back to Bakura.

The complex design of the scars was breathtaking, this was made under Marik's family's hand, a child that someone made bend against its will and slowly scarred for life, how much pain had all that Pharaoh's family had caused? Marik wasn't the only one, this savage underground tradition had been torturing the clan's members for generations, the key for Atem's memory hardly justified such action, anger invaded the thief's gut, Marik's father was a traditions fanatic, so he was certain he didn't use any kind of pain killer.

"Tell me about the Initiation" Bakura touched gently the ridges with the pads of his fingers.

Marik shook when he felt Bakura's hands brush his scars, though he knew without question that he could trust the thief. He just hated his scars. He screwed his eyes shut. "The less you know about the Initiation, the better. My father tied me to a table, ripped off my shirt, put the blade of the Rod into a burning flame and used it to rip open my back. All in the name of the damn Pharaoh."

A hiss escaped Marik as he drew a shuddering breath in. He swallowed painfully, the memories darkening the edges of his vision, but he pushed them away as much as he could. And it was easier with Bakura stood behind him. Bakura knew just as much pain - after all, his entire village had been burned - and so Marik found himself leaning back into Bakura's touch, unconsciously seeking comfort.

Quivering fingers stroked the scars, soon the thief gently covered all the design with careful endearment, feeling the other's pain and wanting to end it all in one second, his partner was just another victim of the circumstances, what he usually called collateral damage, all that hurt the Egyptian was the result of a thread of bad decisions, this was everybody's fault, the pharaoh, the traditions, his own family…

The key to open the door of darkness, the key to make the Pharaoh remember, the key that lead to an ultimate destruction, against the Pharaoh's biggest enemy, the man who refused to kneel before the royalty, the person controlled by a demon, the vengeful, the criminal, the corrupt, the vicious… Bakura's chin fell to his chest, he felt himself swallowing something bitter. "I'm also guilty for this."

Marik stiffened at Bakura's words, confusion creasing his brow. He could feel Bakura's fingers lightly tracing his scars, and it made Marik shake; no one had touched him there before, the skin extra sensitive, but to Marik's surprise it didn't hurt when Bakura touched him. If anything, it felt … pleasant. _What on earth is this thief doing to me?_

Marik turned slightly, peeking over his shoulder at Bakura. He played with the material of his shirt, holding it in his hands as he glanced at the pale thief, chewing his lip. "It isn't your fault. You didn't tell the Pharaoh to do this." Marik's eyes hardened slightly. "Besides, my father is dead, and so is the Pharaoh. I have my revenge now."

The thief shot a malevolent glance. "Yes he is dead, but I didn't make him suffer as I wanted." His voice lowered, he didn't want to remember all this, he wanted to forget, that's why he decided to start over again, and he wanted Marik to forget as well, it didn't matter who hurt them in the past anymore, but what they could do and be in the future.

"The Pharaoh is dead," Marik repeated stubbornly. "And that's all that matters. He can't hurt us anymore…" Marik closed his eyes and turned away. _Why did I say that? Now I just sound weak…_ He sighed and felt a small twinge of sadness when Bakura's fingers left his scars. It was a strange feeling, but letting someone in this much made Marik want to be closer to Bakura.

Bakura breathed deeply and the old always-present smirk went back to its place. "About damn time you gave me what I deserved, you're a terrible person to make deals with, you know?" He removed his hands slowly, wishing to touch those scars much more, Bakura ran his hand through his white messy locks. "We should have some dinner and… Sleep… Somewhere." He looked around, there were scattered things all over the place. "I'm sure you can find a place, somewhere. Do you need a fireplace? I can put it by the door if you want." Bakura paced around pushing things with his feet _Ugh why do I want to make him comfortable all the time? Screw this selfish idiot._

"I don't mind where we sleep," Marik muttered, eyeing Bakura sidelong. Moving, Marik cleared away some of the piles of gold and seated himself on the ground, playing with his shirt in his lap but leaving his chest bare - it was warm in the cavern, and a little too close to an underground space for Marik to be truly comfortable.

"We need a fire to cook, as long as you don't make me eat meat again, thief," Marik continued, managing a small smirk. "I don't think you'd appreciate me shoving lentils down your throat." Marik stretched, his back cracking slightly before he slumped back against the ground, tired. He spoke through a yawn. "When did you get so caring, anyway?"

Bakura stared at Marik's exposed skin._ Curse my life, he's so distracting. _The thief shook his head and tried to occupy himself by lighting a fire. "I thought you said you ate meat? And I did eat lentils, it's just those little brown seeds taste too boring Mr. _Koshari._"

The thief lit the alcohol gel in the new fireplace and made sure it burned correctly, he cooked some lentils and gave them to the Egyptian. "I'm not caring Ishtar, I know how to keep an eye on the people I'm with," then he strode to a pile of coins and laid over them, like a gold mattress, he snuggled in it like a dragon.

"Yes, I eat meat, but I would still rather have lentils, Mr Bloody Steak." Marik chuckled before he gratefully accepted the lentils from Bakura, smirking a little when he sensed the thief's eyes on his bare chest. Well, this could be fun. Bakura seemed to get easily distracted.

Once he had finished eating, Marik deliberately stood and stretched, the muscles in his chest and abs flexing temptingly. He soon settled back down again, wandering over to his backpack and reclaiming his sleeping bag. "You do too care, Bakura. You can't hide that from me."

Bakura rose both eyebrows when the Egyptian stretched and took all his power not to gape, one thing was watching him from the distance in the dark, but being so close to his olive skin and toned body was not in his short-run plans. The thief decided not to look anymore, he knew himself, his patience was limited and his fingers always reached for what they wanted. "I… I do not, I don't know what gives you that impression."

Marik arched a brow. "You're caring, Bakura. I can tell because you are always looking at me, plus, you followed me to an oasis in the freezing cold just to warn me off getting sick. Unless you had some other reason for spying on me, of course."

Marik tossed Bakura a wink. The sight of the thief sprawled out amongst the gold coins made Marik pause, something strangely alluring about the image. He wanted to get closer. So Marik moved deliberately to Bakura's side, clearing a small space on the ground before he set up his sleeping bag and crawled inside. He rolled to face Bakura, expression almost curious. _What would it be like to lie right next to him… _Marik quickly shook his head, trying to be rid of the errant thoughts.

When the thief noticed Marik was going to sleep near him his nerves itched again, he looked at Marik's face, no doubt that bastard was enjoying this, but the worrying thing was he was being analysed, maybe he was being too obvious, he had to recover the control of himself again and smirked. "Couldn't take being away from me, huh?"

Marik chuckled, rolling onto his back and stretching further out against the ground, his bare chest flexing. A yawn stretched his lips as he spoke. "I'm only sl-sl-sleeping here because it's the warmest place in the cavern. I can't let you hog all the good spots." Marik sent Bakura a teasing wink, "Besides, I know you want to see my body, seeing as you followed me to spy on me in the Oasis."

"As if," Bakura scoffed, "Who would want to see your…" Marik stretched and brown eyes landed on the working pectoral muscles. Bakura trailed into silence. Marik smirked, pausing. The last few rays of the setting sun glanced into the cavern, illuminating Bakura's sharp features.

Marik couldn't stop himself from staring. He bit his lip unconsciously. He hadn't properly noticed before quite how close he was to the thief, just the material of his sleeping bag preventing them from touching, and now it made his heart make a strange sort of jumping motion in his chest. He shivered to distract himself, burrowing further into his sleeping bag. "Gods, its cold." He looked up, staring straight into Bakura's brown gaze, sensing the thief's eyes still trained on him.

"…If you're so cold why are you still half naked anyway?" The thief almost jumped 5 feet when the Egyptian' eyes pinned his own, he felt the warmth coming from his skin, he could smell the scent of his hair, this was bad, really bad, his gaze fixed on Marik's lips, they were full and dark, glistening in the pale light, he felt himself trapped on those big amethysts, he wondered if those could be part of his treasure, next to the gold of his hair and the silk of his skin, Bakura tried desperately to get out of the prison now he was in by playing the confident. "Didn't your siblings warn you about bad men and not being almost nude in front of them?"

Marik arched one brow, attempting to keep his expression cool despite the nerves making his chest flutter. He smirked. "My siblings didn't warn me away from men I enjoy spending time with." His smirk froze, however, when he felt Bakura's eyes boring into him, so close to his own. Everything about the thief seemed to draw Marik nearer, alluring at the same time as echoing threat. This situation was dangerous.

A small malicious laugh escaped from Bakura's throat. "So, you actually enjoy spending your time with me, I can see that, you can't be away can you?" Despite his smug tone he could felt his hands shaking, his heart pounding in his rib cage and his body mirroring Marik's movements.

Cautiously licking his lips, Marik dared to move his face half a centimetre closer. He spoke quietly, barely more than a whisper, but his words dropped into the air between them with enough force to challenge Bakura, Marik hoped. "Besides, I don't really think you want me to leave."

Bakura knew this person was Marik Ishtar, he was being played with, he was being an idiot for letting his hopes rise, but the situation was dragging him to Marik's control, like being trapped in the waves on a beach, if he lost his self-control now, he would end up being in the Egyptian hands and he wasn't sure why his body responded so fondly at the ridiculous idea. _Damn it all, I can't escape, what should I do?_ He mirrored Marik, licked his lips and got closer. "What if I don't want to?"

Marik managed to keep his smirk in place as Bakura leaned closer, mimicking his actions. Barely an inch was between them now, they were breathing the same air, and it would be so easy for Marik to lean forwards and press their lips together…

Blinking quickly, Marik attempted to stay focused. He drew in a shaky breath, leaning forwards to allow his forehead to rest gently against Bakura's as he managed to speak again. "Good job, because it seems that I can't keep away from you either."

Marik's bright eyes bored straight into Bakura as the last rays of sunlight disappeared, leaving the cavern in darkness. He could still sense the pale thief, though, knowing how close he was, how electric the air was between them. There was no way Marik was leaving now, not when he had almost caught Bakura.

The thief could hear his own pulse in his leaned ear, he wondered if Marik could hear it as well, seemed so loud in the silence, Marik's warm breath tickled his lips, all his body felt numb. It was so different than being here by himself, centuries ago, a lone king with his lone treasure, regrets, revenge and lost psychophonies.

He could deliver himself to the Egyptian, but somehow he wanted to fight back, he wanted to guard himself as he had been doing until now. _But I haven't been succeeding, right? From the first time I went looking for him I already lost_. He leaned further, his nose slid against the other's.

Marik started when he felt Bakura so close, noses brushing. He was frozen, every pore tingling, the hairs along his arms lifting. He trembled slightly. _Gods, since when did I get this nervous? Damn thief, messing with my head again._ Still, Marik found himself moving closer still, his lips lightly caressing Bakura's cheek.

Marik had never before allowed himself this close to another person. Even with his siblings he took care, never allowing them past a certain point, refusing to let them in. But Bakura had broken down all his defences. Before Marik fully realised what he was doing, he turned his head and pressed his lips against Bakura's, lightly.

Bakura shuddered when lips brushed his skin. "Marik?" All his thoughts stopped in the moment he became aware what was now touching his lips, it was Marik's, a shock traversed his spine, and little by little his muscles left all tautness behind, for a minute the experience was heavenly, only the pleasant feeling of the closeness, for a moment he forgot how to breathe.

Bakura wasn't made of halfway situations, if he was having a meal he ripped it apart, if he had a duel he would give all his life points, if he was going to kiss, he will do this his style, after all Marik was now definitely interested, so in the outbreak of his tempestuous personality and desire, his arms imprisoned Marik's shoulders and he pressed further into Marik's lips. Even if this was some control plan for the Egyptian he couldn't help but take what he wanted.

Marik started when he felt Bakura's arms suddenly wind around his shoulders, pulling him closer still as he returned the kiss fiercely. Marik's eyes widened. Before he knew it he was losing control, moving closer still as his hands reached to grab the front of Bakura's jacket, pulling him nearer. Bakura's response confirmed all of Marik's thoughts - the stares, the teasing, how Bakura had returned for Marik and Marik alone - all made sense now.

But Marik was not willing to completely lose control. He pulled his mind back from the brink and slightly moved back, breaking the kiss though his hands remained gripping Bakura's jacket. His eyes found Bakura's in the darkness. "I knew it," was all Marik said, his tone smug and expression bright.

Bakura kissed eagerly not holding anything back, Marik's lips were intoxicating, he felt himself drowning on the sensation, in only moments he wanted to devour more of them until the Egyptian pulled away, leaving the hungry lips of the thief open and searching, the thief growled in dissatisfaction when the arrogant voice reached his ears, he also knew it, so he scolded himself for being so weak, he didn't meant to end up like this, all the plan wasn't heading this way, but he couldn't anticipate his quirky partner's reactions. "What the hell you think you know?"

Marik's smug grin only widened at Bakura's angry words. "Oh come on, don't you try and hide it now. You literally cannot keep your hands off me." Marik's tone was teasing, but in actuality he felt a little afraid - he was vulnerable now, and it made him feel weak. So he hid his fear behind laughter and arrogance.

"I knew you were a secret cuddler." Marik glanced pointedly down at Bakura's hands, which were still encircling his bare shoulders. Of course, Marik wasn't much better as his fingers dug into the front of Bakura's jacket. The darkness cradled the two of them as Marik dared to look Bakura straight in the eyes, trying to discern what the pale thief was thinking.

"Of course I can! For the record, you started this, you came here and threw yourself at me, and I haven't kissed anyone in… like in centuries!" _Or more like never._ Bakura scowled deeply, trying to not let Marik scrutinize his frustrated body and his latent emotions. "And I'm not cuddling, I was maintaining my posture." He retracted his arms and crossed them over his chest, almost bracing himself, trying to forget the feeling of Marik's arms. The daring stubborn eyes of the thief were forced to hold their ground, looking inside the lavender, challenging and refusing to admit defeat.

Things only got worse when Bakura's arms moved from around him and Marik was once more left feeling alone. His violet eyes hardened slightly. "Well, I may have started this, but you didn't have to react. You could have just shoved me away." Marik quickly dropped his gaze so that Bakura wouldn't see the hurt hidden in his expression.

With a low hiss, Marik rolled onto his other side, facing away from Bakura. He gritted his teeth. How stupid of him to fall for the thief's tricks, and now he would have just made everything more awkward. He wrapped himself firmly in his sleeping bag. "Goodnight, thief." Marik's tone was cold and frosty.

In a few instances the thief felt a punch in the gut when those sparkling eyes looked at him in such a detached manner. _Did he hate this so much?_ "How can you blame me? What the hell would you do in my place? Oh, right, the great Marik never would kiss a pitiful thief, right?" When Marik turned his back on him the same blazing passion that burned his body became anger, he didn't know being played with could feel like this, like a stab on the chest, the thief snarled and turned his back on the other too. "Fuck you, Ishtar." But he couldn't bring himself to sleep.

Marik winced at Bakura's words. The anger clearly burned through the thief's tone, making Marik regret his actions and attitude. He had to admit, he had been playing with Bakura, but now that the thief had cracked Marik found himself longing for their close touches again. He gritted his teeth. _Damn it, the stupid thief turned me soft._

With a quiet growl, Marik flipped back over to find himself facing Bakura's back. He hissed quietly and moved closer, deliberately winding his arms around Bakura as he pulled the thief back against him, cuddling in the exact way he had accused Bakura of doing earlier. But Marik was acting purely on instinct. Marik all but purred into Bakura's ear. "Of course I wouldn't kiss a pitiful thief; only the _Thief King_ would have me."

The thief heard Marik shuffling behind him and frowned, but his eyes widened at Marik's embrace "What are you…?" he felt Marik's body pressed against his. _Marik, why do you keep playing with me, you sadist?_ "What kind of sick capricious game are you into this time, Ishtar? If this is all one of your jokes I'm not amused in the least." He felt a small ember of hope inside of him despite telling himself over and over again to not fall this time.

Marik growled quietly. _Gods, the thief can be dense. Why does he always insist on making me spell everything out? This is hard enough anyway…_ Marik moved a little closer, tightening his hold around Bakura and burying his face in Bakura's hair, allowing the thief's familiar scent to calm him. "This isn't a game, idiot, and it certainly isn't a joke. Do you think little enough of me to suspect I could be capable of that?"

"It's not thinking little of you, you can be an unreadable bastard with unexplainable changes of mood." Bakura felt hot breath against his scalp, that made him shudder.

Marik hissed. He nestled closer, burying himself in the darkness and breathing deeply to try and help calm himself. Bakura was just so damn confusing. Marik spoke again, his voice muffled by the strands of Bakura's hair. "I just don't understand why you would have brought me all the way here if you didn't want me."

Marik's arms were comforting and always made him feel like home, he could stay there, the night would be more cozy this way, he grabbed the Egyptian arms almost trying to make them stay where they were, no matter what could happen or being said between them. _Stupid Egyptian, always wanting to extract everything from me_. "I'm afraid I don't follow, I think I said to you today, when you were jealous of Ryou, and I quote 'If I wanted him instead of you wouldn't he be easier to bring?' so you see, I already told you I wanted you here."

Marik kept nestled close to Bakura, enjoying the feeling of the thief in his arms. He closed his eyes, burying his head in Bakura's hair and allowing himself to just enjoy the moment, especially when he felt Bakura's arms catch onto his own, keeping him in place.

"I was not jealous of Ryou," Marik muttered, though it was only half-hearted as he knew in truth he had been jealous. But he didn't want Bakura to know that. Marik could feel tiredness weighing down his eyelids, echoing the darkness of the cavern now that the sun was fully set. He settled more comfortably, arms tight around Bakura, and allowed himself to sleep. "Goodnight…"

Bakura drew air, he didn't know where all this was going, but he decided not to waste another second even thinking about it, his partner was warm against his back, he had never felt so comfortable before, so it didn't matter what Marik was planning anymore. He allowed himself to fall asleep in the arms he was becoming so attached to. "Good night indeed." And so it was, not a single nightmare plagued his mind that night.


End file.
